A sound investment in human and animal health

Scientists are working on new diagnostic techniques that use ultrasound to detect and manage a range of infectious diseases in humans and animals. The researchers have received three grants to develop new techniques and mobile devices that can be used to diagnose a range of conditions by analysing samples of blood, urine, semen. The team from the University of Glasgow has already patented a technique that uses ultrasound. The biggest tranche of funding - £440,000 - is from the BBSRC to develop a device to help detect infectious diseases in cows and buffaloes in India - with a focus on brucellosis, leptospirosis and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis. India is now the world's largest dairy producer, with around 125 billion litres milk produced each year and sustaining this 'white revolution' is a vital component in agricultural policy, requiring new diagnostic methods to help break the cycle of infection and control rates of transmission in dairy animals. These diseases affect the livestock's reproductive organs, reducing fertility and resulting in loss of milk production - with a significant impact on agricultural output. All of them have a particularly high prevalence in India, and other Asian, African and South American countries as well as being of significant economic importance in the developed world, including the UK.