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Portable test spots foot and mouth fast

By Andy Coghlan

7 April 2001

IT’S just what vets in Britain have been praying for—a portable test
that can tell them within an hour if an animal has foot and mouth disease.

Developed in the US, the test is being evaluated in Britain this week. If it
works, it could greatly speed up the vital task of identifying infected animals.
It would be especially valuable for sheep, in which the symptoms are very hard
to spot.

At present, samples from animals have to be sent to off to a lab for testing.
This can cause delays of a day or more. So vets battling…

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