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National & World Ag News Headlines |
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K-State Vet Lab Awarded Quintet of Swine Research Grants
USAgNet - 12/19/2016
It's said that "good things come in threes," but for veterinary diagnostic researchers at Kansas State University, that number is five.
The "good things" in this case are a set of five research grants obtained through the Swine Health Information Center, Ames, Iowa, for developing tests to reliably diagnose a very specific set of swine-related pathogens.
"We in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory have unique expertise leading in these areas," said Jianfa Bai, clinical associate professor and director of molecular research and development for the diagnostic
laboratory. "We have already done background research in these areas: Seneca Valley virus, porcine circovirus type three, parainfluenza, pestivirus and swine influenza viruses. The Swine Health Information Center has a mission to try to protect livestock that
takes place through emerging pathogen surveillance and diagnostics, and we are able to support that mission with the work we do on a regular basis."
Ying Fang, a professor of molecular virology, said that Kansas State University's location and its connections and partnerships with the incoming National Bio and Agro-defense Facility, the university's Biosecurity Research Institute, U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Agricultural Research Services and Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Research Unit, Kansas Department of Agriculture and the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor were important factors in leveraging the grants, which total $292,667.
"The Swine Health Information Center needs us as diagnosticians and researchers to interconnect and communicate in real time -- to understand and track emerging diseases," Fang said. "This is a perfect example of translational research applied for benefit of
clients and livestock industries."
Gary Anderson, director of the Diagnostic Laboratory, added, "We, as a diagnostic lab, value research. We are able to blend research with service, such as when field veterinarians provide livestock tissue and clinical samples for analysis. It's also important that
we are able to be leaders in sharing technology -- validated tests -- among other diagnostic laboratories, so that we are all better able to respond to emerging diseases if and when they occur."
Bai said that the Swine Health Information Center has an association with the National Pork Board, but that the center's own emphasis is on finding ways to quickly to respond to emerging threats to swine health. The five pathogens named in the research grants
are part of the center's top 25 pathogens of concern.
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