PROVINCE INVESTS IN VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC LABS

Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food is making another investment in the province's agricultural industry with grants of $317,000 to Prairie Diagnostic Services (PDS), to support the purchase of technical equipment for the PDS laboratories in Saskatoon and Regina.

"It is vital that we support and maintain our veterinary infrastructure in the province for the benefit and protection of the livestock industry and the public," Agriculture and Food Minister Mark Wartman said. "To do so, we must ensure that PDS has the right tools to assist in the detection and monitoring of animal-health related problems."

The equipment to be purchased includes an Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrophotometer (ICP).

"This is a core piece of diagnostic equipment for the toxicology lab, and is used for various tests, such as trace minerals and heavy metals," PDS Chief Executive Officer Marilyn Jonas said. "At present, about three-quarters of all cases handled in the toxicology lab require use of the ICP."

Jonas said the new ICP will improve detection limits on the tests performed on trace minerals and heavy metals, as well as allow PDS to expand the scope of its toxicology tests.

Other targets for the funding include equipment to produce histological slides that are used by the veterinary pathologists to examine tissues and determine the cause of death and illness in animals; as well as an autoclave used to sterilize glassware and to decontaminate equipment and bacterial cultures prior to disposal.

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For More Information, Contact:

Scott Brown Agriculture and Food Regina Phone: (306)787-4031

Marilyn Jonas Prairie Diagnostic Services Saskatoon Phone: (306)966-7248