Portable device to detect poultry disease including bird flu launched

A portable device that can detect, differentiate and identify major poultry infectious diseases, including the bird flu, has been launched in Singapore.

Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore and Veredus Laboratories launched the device which uses a disposable biochip known as VereVet on 16 June, reports ChannelNewsAsia.

The biochip can detect multiple infectious disease agents affecting poulty using only one sample compared to conventional testing methods that require different samples and different tests.

The diseases that can be identified by VereVet include Newcastle Disease, Salmonella Pullorum, Salmonella Enteritidis, Campylobactor and the Avian influenza or bird flu virus.

Scientists from the authority and Veredus started work on the project five years ago.

The authority's chief executive Tan Poh Hong said that bird flu continues to plague other countries in the region as well as other parts of the world.

"With the emergence of new strains, it may be a challenge to quickly identify the strain in question. The new Lab-on-Chip, capable of rapidly identifying multiple poultry pathogens in one sample, enables authorites to take appropriate actions," Tan said.

VereVet will be presented at the 17<sup>th International Symposium of the World Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians in Canada.