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A new oligosaccharide synthesis could lead to more reliable diagnoses of the bacterial disease brucellosis, which afflicts animals and people worldwide.

When cattle are infected with Brucella bacteria, infection can spread rapidly within herds, where it causes abortion, births of weak calves, and reduced milk yields. In people, who can catch brucellosis from unpasteurized dairy products or contaminated meat, symptoms include excessive sweating and joint and muscle pain, and the condition can be chronic or even lifelong.

Brucellosis is typically diagnosed by detecting antibodies the body produces to fight the bacteria. But the Brucella cell-wall molecule contains two oligosaccharide antigens, A and M; other bacteria carry the same A antigen; and antibodies to A and M cannot currently be detected independently. So brucellosis diagnostic tests often give false-positive results, which complicate human treatment and cause commercial animal herds to be declared disease-tainted when they're not.

M-antigen disaccharide conjugated to a carrier protein (yellow) could make it possible to diagnose brucellosis while minimizing false-positive results.

Now, David Bundle of the University of Alberta; John McGiven of the Animal & Plant Health Agency, in Surrey, England; and coworkers have synthesized several versions of Brucella antigens and have conjugated them to carrier proteins (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, DOI: 10.1021/ja5081184). The conjugates can bind and detect A and M antibodies independently. The researchers suggest that the disaccharide M-antigen conjugate could be used to unambiguously detect the immune response to brucellosis infection in humans and animals.

"We have established collaborations to evaluate the synthetic antigens for diagnosis," Bundle says.

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Brucellosis expert Jacques Godfroid of the University of Tromsø—the Arctic University of Norway, says, "For the brucellosis scientific community and all those fighting brucellosis—farmers, veterinary services, and food safety and veterinary public health scientists—this work represents the first major breakthrough in decades toward avoiding false-positive serological reactions in brucellosis testing. A test would have to go through validation steps, but for the first time in decades there is something extremely promising."

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DoD Food Analysis And Diagnostic Laboratory (DoD FADL)

Based on Journal of the American Medical Association volumes for 1917 and 1918, and the Center of Military History's "Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War, the original medical laboratory founded at Fort Sam Houston, Texas was the "Southern Department Laboratory", which was established sometime in the latter part of 1917.

The Southern Department itself was established in 1913, as the successor to the Department of Texas. The continental United States, including Alaska, was divided into four departments: Eastern, Southern, Central and Western. The Philippines and Hawaii were each their own departments. Headquarters. The Southern Department, headquartered at Fort Sam Houston, was responsible for the border with Mexico from Brownsville to the Arizona-California border.

The Southern Department was responsible for the operations along the border in 1916 that involved virtually all of the mobile army in the continental US, plus the activated National Guard. This was, in effect, the Army's dress rehearsal for World War I, and impetus for a lot of changes in the Army, 1916-17.

The Southern Department Laboratory was initially set up by Lieutenant John Stevens Simmons, Medical Corps Reserve, then led by Major Charles Atwood Kofoid, Sanitary Corps in 1918.

One of the first five veterinary officers to be trained specifically to perform laboratory duties was, Captain Hadleigh Marsh in 1918. The first head of the Veterinary section of the laboratory was Captain Hadleigh Marsh. Lieutenant Colonel Edward Bright Vedder, a Medical Corps officer was the director of the laboratory from 1919 until 1922.

Following the first World War the Southern Department became the Eight Corps Area Laboratory and the laboratory may have been involved in the testing of water for outlying border stations and in a study of Malta Fever (brucellosis), involving the testing of goat milk and blood. Historical records are a little sketchy until 15 March 1941, when the laboratory was established as the Eight Service Command Medical Laboratory (SCML). Building records show that the original building may have been used as barracks between 1939 and 1951. It was turned back into a laboratory sometime in 1951.

1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – 4th Army Area Medical LaboratoryVeterinary Department : 1940sThe initial pieces that were to become the FADL were born out of necessity to prepare for War.Pictured here in the 1940s was home to some of our pioneering staff….The 4th Army Area Medical Laboratory(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL 2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

The Eight Service Command Medical Laboratory in Fort Sam Houston, Texas was the real parent of veterinary laboratory activities. The laboratory included a food analysis branch and a virus laboratory, both of which were supervised and operated by veterinary personnel. The food branch conducted chemical and bacterial analysis of foods. The virus laboratory provided support for investigations of diseases of veterinary interest, care of laboratory animals, and study of troop health aspects of diseases like typhus, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, lymphogranuloma venereum, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, rabies, ornithosis, equine encephalomyelitis, and St. Louis encephalitis. A major portion of the workload was related to sanitary surveys of local milk supplies, which were being procured by the Army. Research studies were initiated with regard to mycological and bacteriological quality of egg products.

After World War II, the laboratory at Fort Sam Houston (FSH) became the Fourth Army Area Laboratory. This laboratory and its associated veterinary section enjoyed 54 years of continuous service with the veterinary laboratory support provided by the veterinary station hospital prior to the establishment of the Eight SCML.

In 1993, the laboratory was called "Regional Veterinary Laboratory", under the COL Byron Wilson as Director.

In 1994, the laboratory was known as the U.S. Army Veterinary Laboratory with LTC Gary Hanna as the Director.

The current facility was constructed with Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) funds; the construction was an addition to the original laboratory, which was 15,000 square feet. Construction started in July 1993 and was completed by August 1994.

The facility was officially known as the "DoD Army Veterinary Laboratory Facility" during its official opening ceremony on 27 April 1995. The Director at the time was LTC Ronald Roy.

The laboratory was responsible for microbiological, chemical, and radiological testing of food for safety and contractual compliance for the Department of Defense. In addition, the laboratory was also providing support for the Department of Defense zoonotic disease prevention and control programs.

In 1999, the laboratory was renamed to "VETCOM Food Analysis and Diagnostic Laboratory", under COL Charles Pixley as the Director.

In 2008, the laboratory was renamed to its current name "DoD Veterinary Food Analysis and Diagnostic Laboratory" under LTC Roger Parker as the Director.

In 2011, VETCOM was deactivated, then all Centers for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (CHPPM) and Regional Veterinary commands merged as Public Health Commands and the laboratory aligned under Public Health Command - South (now Public Health Command, West).

In 2012, the building underwent renovations, and the laboratory added the Cholinesterase mission.

In 2020, the DoD FADL joined the fight against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). The DoD FADL provided critical manpower to the BAMC Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory in support of SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing and asymptomatic screening of service members. The DOD FADL then supported ARNORTH units deployed to CONUS COVID-19 hot spots in New Orleans, Dallas, and Seattle via expedited sanitary audits.

The Department of Defense Food Analysis and Diagnostic Laboratory (DOD FADL) has maintained a strong tradition in providing subject matter expertise, technical knowledge, and leadership to shape critical missions for the DoD preserving force readiness for over 80 years. The continuous history of veterinary laboratory service at FSH may be the longest of any Army veterinary activity.

Hyderabad: Low-cost Diagnostic Kit Developed For Brucellosis

The National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) has developed a new generation budget-friendly in-vitro diagnostic kit for Brucellosis, an infectious zoonotic disease.

HYDERABAD: The National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) has developed a new generation budget-friendly in-vitro diagnostic kit for Brucellosis, an infectious zoonotic disease.A team led by Dr Girish Radhakrishnan at NIAB, Hyderabad, identified a protein candidate from Brucella-infected animals with promising diagnostic potential. The group then developed in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) kits, such as indirect ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and Lateral Flow Assay, using the identified protein. The IVD kits can be used to detect animal and human Brucellosis."Unlike other assays, the protein/peptide-based IVD kits developed at NIAB exhibited excellent DIVA capability where it could differentiate vaccinated cattle from naturally infected animals. These indigenously developed IVD kits with DIVA capability are cost-effective and affordable for farmers," said NIAB director Dr G Taru Sharma, adding that NIAB has not only filed a patent for the DIVA capable assays, but has transferred the technology to Engrave Bio Labs, Hyderabad, for its commercialization.Brucellosis is endemic in different parts of the world, including Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean basin.This disease poses a serious threat to public health and accounts for huge losses in the livestock sector. The reported annual median loss in India owing to the disease is to the tune of ₹22,800 crore.Brucellosis is a bacterial disease caused by the intracellular pathogen Brucella. This bacteria infects different cell populations in the body and hijacks the immune system.Brucellosis can manifest into reproductive health issues in animals such as abortion, dead offspring, low milk yield and sterility. While in humans, brucellosis can be multi-symptomatic with fever, chills, and can cause severe systemic failure in untreated cases."Early detection of the disease, mass vaccination of livestock with live attenuated vaccines such as B abortus S19 for cattle and culling/quarantine of the infected animals are major preventive and controlling measures to tame brucellosis," said Sharma.

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