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Digital Angel Corporation has received an order from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its proprietary RFID traceability system to help the US government's ongoing effort to eradicate Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in captive cervids (deer and elk).
The initial order, valued at over US$200,000, covers the purchase of the electronic tags and scanners that will be used to identify individual animals in the national captive deer and elk population.
The system is similar to the one the company is already using for animal tracing in the pet, livestock, and salmon industries in the US, Canada, and other countries.
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal neurological disease found in deer and elk. It belongs to a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (or 'prion diseases'). The disease attacks the brains of infected deer and elk, causing the animals to become emaciated, display abnormal behaviour, lose bodily functions, and eventually die. Besides being found in captive deer and elk, the disease has also been found in wild deer and elk in eight US states and in one Canadian province.
"We are very pleased to have secured the purchase order and we look forward to working closely with the USDA," said Digital Angel's CEO, Kevin McGrath. "We believe our technology will be useful in this effort to eradicate Chronic Wasting Disease, which is an economically significant disease and needs to be kept under control."
The initial order is to be fulfilled by the end of 2004, and additional orders are expected during 2005.
Source: Digital Angel Corporation
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