Friday, February 3, 2023
News on Pathogens and Preparedness
Global Biodefense
  • Featured
  • COVID-19
  • Funding
  • Directory
  • Jobs
  • Events
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
  • Featured
  • COVID-19
  • Funding
  • Directory
  • Jobs
  • Events
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Global Biodefense
No Result
View All Result
Home Biosecurity

WSU Animal Disease Lab Awarded Funding to Improve Early Detection of Outbreaks in Animals

by Global Biodefense Staff
February 4, 2022
WSU Animal Disease Lab Awarded Funding to Improve Early Detection of Outbreaks in Animals

A researcher working at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. Credit: WSU

The Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) at Washington State University was awarded more than $475,000 in Farm Bill funding for a pair of projects designed to enhance the early detection and response to animal diseases.

As a member of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, a partnership of more than 60 federal, state and university-associated animal health laboratories throughout the United States, the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory plays a critical role in detecting animal disease, combating outbreaks and protecting the nation’s food supply.

The grants, provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), will help the Laboratory implement a new notification system that will allow it and other laboratories in the NAHLN system across the U.S. to alert local, state, and federal agencies of testing results more efficiently and quickly.

The funding will also improve WADDL’s ability to detect emerging aquatic diseases.

New Alert Notification System

APHIS awarded WADDL $128,260 to develop and implement the new electronic notification system. Dr. Timothy Baszler, executive director of WADDL, said they and other National Animal Health Laboratory Network labs act as a first alert for animal health emergencies and outbreaks of diseases like avian flu, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (known more commonly as mad cow disease), foot and mouth disease and others, including emerging diseases.

If such a disease were detected, WADDL would immediately notify the appropriate animal health regulatory agencies at the state and federal levels and potentially other labs in the network. However, since many of the facilities and agencies use incompatible information systems, communication is often conducted by telephone or email, which can be slow, inefficient and not optimally secure. The new notification system will send automatic secure electronic notifications.

“These are diseases that could devastate animal populations and really ruin our international trade,” Baszler said. “With this new notification system, we will be able to send electronic messages out across the country to state and federal regulatory officials so they can take action as quickly as possible.”

Detecting Aquatic Diseases

WADDL also received a $350,000 grant to improve the processes of detecting emerging aquatic diseases. In 2019, WADDL was awarded a NAHLN enhancement grant to develop a methodology for aquatic pathogen discovery. While the project was a success, some processes, like detection speed, need to be improved before the technology can be deployed in a real‐world outbreak situation. The new grant will allow will provide funding to test and integrate new molecular technologies for rapid detection.

“First, we obtained the capability to detect emerging aquatic diseases, and now we are refining the workflow to make disease detection and response very rapid,” Dr. Chrissy Eckstrand, a pathologist at WADDL and project lead, said.

Eckstrand said the project will help protect the nation’s aquaculture industry, and once developed, it can also be applied to livestock and other animals.

Source: Devin Rokyta, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, edited for context and format.

Tags: AwardsEditor PickOne HealthUSDAZoonotic

Related Posts

DARPA Pursues Advanced Threat-Detection for Crop Defense
Biosecurity

DARPA Pursues Advanced Threat-Detection for Crop Defense

January 3, 2023
New Virus Discovered in Swiss Ticks
Biosurveillance

New Virus Discovered in Swiss Ticks

December 7, 2022
Why Do Some of the Outbreak Genomes Have More Mutations Than Others?
Biosurveillance

Virginia Institutes Partner to Join National Pathogen Genomics Centers of Excellence Network

October 25, 2022
Researcher holds a pipette
Biodetection

These Nanotech Bubbles Burst When They Detect Viruses in the Air

October 25, 2022
Load More

Latest News

Partner Therapeutics’ Novel Approach to Stratify Sepsis Patients Gains Backing From BARDA

Biopreparedness Research Virtual Environment (BRaVE) Initiative Backed by $105M DOE Funding

January 25, 2023
Influenza Proteins Tilt and Wave in ‘Breath-like’ Motions

Influenza Proteins Tilt and Wave in ‘Breath-like’ Motions

January 25, 2023
Biodefense Headlines – 24 January 2023

Biodefense Headlines – 24 January 2023

January 24, 2023
Biodefense Headlines – 17 January 2023

Biodefense Headlines – 17 January 2023

January 17, 2023

Subscribe

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Subscribe

© 2022 Stemar Media Group LLC

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured
  • COVID-19
  • Funding
  • Directory
  • Jobs
  • Events
  • Subscribe

© 2022 Stemar Media Group LLC