The Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory will be the first American establishment to use a highly sensitive test used throughout parts of Europe to accurately detect bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV).
Developed by a German company, the newly available test identifies and differentiates both persistent infection and transient infection, the two types of BVDV in cattle. According to European governmental reference labs, the test can detect all 68 referenced strains of BVDV, including atypical European and American strains such as HOBI and H138 strains.
"We’re very excited to be the first U.S. laboratory to provide the [test] to veterinarians and producers of Kansas and the surrounding states," said Dr. Gary Anderson, KSVDL director. "[Past] technology was viewed as too difficult, unreliable or too costly to run in a high throughput environment."
The BVDV test components have been submitted to USDA for sale and distribution approval.