Developing Efficient, Multi-Pathogen Tests for Common Cattle Diseases
Respiratory and enteric diseases are the most common and costly diseases in beef cattle. Both of these types of diseases are multi-factorial disease complexes meaning they involve several viruses and bacteria.Currently these diseases are diagnosed using single pathogen tests making the process very inefficient because each pathogen involved requires a separate test. Effective control of these diseases can benefit from a rapid and cost effective diagnostic test where all relevant pathogens can be tested for in a single assay.
Research currently underway and funded by the National Check-off and Canada’s Beef Science Cluster is working to develop two user-friendly automated assays for simultaneous detection of pathogens relevant to both respiratory and enteric diseases. This will significantly reduce cost, labour, and time requires for multi-pathogen detection. These assays will facilitate nation-wide surveys of disease prevalence and enhance biosecurity in the cattle industry.
To learn more about this research, see the BCRC fact sheet.
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