14 February 2023

1 minute read

By: Global Ag Media

North America

In a recent press release, the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the purchase of diagnostic test kits for the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank (NAVVCB). 

This is the first purchase of these kits, used to test livestock for African swine fever (ASF) and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). The purchases help increase US preparedness to respond to high-consequence foreign animal diseases (FADs).

APHIS placed orders for the test kits using Farm Bill funds and sole-source authority. The purchases were made from the manufacturer of the only APHIS Center for Veterinary Biologics-licensed PCR kits for these two diseases.