Tennessee developing rapid field test for livestock diseases

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Department of Agriculture has received a $250,000 federal grant to help develop a rapid field test for two highly contagious livestock diseases.

According to the department, the money will go to Tennessee’s C. E. Kord Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory, which is working with Vanderbilt University to develop new tests for Senecavirus A and the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease.

The new tests could yield results in the field within minutes.

They are being developed for swine, but the technology could be used to develop tests for other species. A fully functional prototype should be ready for U.S. Department of Agriculture validation within three years.