National Institute of Animal Health, NARO

The Pathology and Production Disease Group conducts pathological research at the Tsukuba Research Base that contributes to the diagnosis of animal and poultry diseases. At the Sapporo Research Base, we conduct research that contributes to the control of mastitis, a disease that is said to greatly impair dairy productivity in dairy cows.

In pathological research, we are developing a pathological diagnosis support system that can be viewed from a remote location by constructing a database that digitally visualizes the entire field of view of pathological tissue specimens. In addition, we are developing new pathological analysis and diagnosis methods for animal respiratory diseases, digestive diseases, and chronic viral diseases of poultry, aiming at the advancement of pathological diagnosis technology.

In the research of bovine mastitis, we are conducting research to elucidate the mechanism of disease onset and to clarify the epidemiological characteristics of the bacteria side of Staphylococcus and Streptococcus which are the main causative bacteria of mastitis. Based on this research, we are also conducting research on technologies that contribute to the control of mastitis, such as vaccines for prevention, cytokine therapy for treatment, and rapid detection of mastitis-causing bacteria in milk.

At our group, we are working to understand the needs of animal health research on pathological and productive diseases. We are also in charge of basic operations to support animal health, such as disease assessment of animal diseases, training, technical consultation, and dissemination of technologies.