Diagnostic tools for animal diseases

While traditional testing methods are still widely used in veterinary diagnostic laboratories exciting new technologies, such as biosensors and microarray techniques, are being developed. Nucleic acid diagnostic techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have become routine diagnostic tools in veterinary laboratories not only to make specific typing determinations but also to rapidly screen large numbers of samples during disease outbreaks. In addition, nanotechnologies, although not yet implemented in veterinary laboratories, hold the promise of screening for numerous pathogens in a single assay. Other biotechnologies are likely to be widely used in the future as they can improve diagnostic capabilities while reducing the time and perhaps, the costs, associated with conventional technologies. This paper describes some of these new technologies and concludes that although a lot of developmental work is still required, biotechnology and its applications hold great promise for improving the speed and accuracy of diagnostics for veterinary pathogens.