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UB, partner of the European project Aquavalens to improve the safety of drinking water

By 27 de May de 2013November 18th, 2020No Comments
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Researchers who participate in the project. Source: UB.
 27.05.2013

UB, partner of the European project Aquavalens to improve the safety of drinking water

Members of the Enteric Virus Group and the Group on Microbiology of Water related to the Health, led in this project, respectively, by Albert Bosch and Anicet Blanch, of the Faculty of Biology of the UB, participate in the European project Aquavalents, which aims at developing new technologies to detect viruses, bacteria and parasites in water before they cause any disease to population. The International Research Projects Office UB-FGB, located at the Parc Científic de Barcelona, is in charge of the project's promotion and economic management.


Around 330,000 cases of waterborne disease, such as gastroenteritis and hepatitis, are reported yearly. The main agents that cause them are viruses, bacteria and protozoa. Between 2000 and 2007, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there were 354 outbreaks of waterborne diseases across fourteen European countries. Therefore, the EU, by means of the 7th Framework Programme, and aiming at protecting citizens’ health, funded the project Aquavalens with nine millions euros. The project will improve and ensure the provision of safe, hygienic water for drinking and food production throughout Europe.

The five-year project Aquavalens has four main phases. In the first one, a research on the molecular aspects of pathogens will be carried out. Throughout the second phase, advanced technologies (nanotechnologies and biosensors) to detect microorganisms in real time will be developed and applied. In the third one, the techniques selected in the previous phase will be used in large urban water distribution systems and rural ones, as well as in food industry. Finally, in the fourth phase, new knowledge generated will be used to design strategies to protect human health and the environment, considering aspects such as the climate change.

One of the key points of the project is the collaboration among academic institutions, industry, and national and international government organizations in an attempt to guarantee results’ influence on European policy. Scientists, engineers, legislators and experts on public health, from 39 institutions from thirteen countries, compose the scientific consortium.

The International Research Projects Office UB-FGB is in charge of the project’s promotion and economic management. The objective of this office is to manage those research projects funded by the European Commission. In 2012, more than two hundreds proposals were presented and 42 contracts valued at 8.09 million euros were signed.