Construction crews have been hard at work at the corner of Newtown Pike and Citation Boulevard for months with the rapid expansion of the University of Kentucky’s Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center (LDDC). Center Director Craig Carter, DVM, PhD, admits that while the expansion is exciting, the activity probably also stimulates curiosity among Lexington residents about the purpose of the LDDC.

The LDDC, along with the Breathitt Veterinary Center in Hopkinsville, was built by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture in the early 1970s as a way to monitor disease outbreaks in farm animals. The labs were purchased by the University of Kentucky and Murray State University, respectively, and their missions continue to be service-oriented.

The LDDC helps control livestock illnesses by offering tests to help veterinarians diagnose and treat diseases. The center’s staff work with the state veterinarian’s office to track the incidence and spread of disease in all species of animals. The new Laboratory Information Management System disease tracking system allows veterinarians and farmers to stay abreast of local disease patterns. The lab has seven faculty members who specialize in pathology, clinical toxicology, virology, and epidemiology.

“Vets out there do a good job of diagnosing an animal that’s sick” Carter said, “but what they (don’t have is) a lab to submit testing samples to. It’s too expensive and they can’t confirm a diagnosis…We’re the vet’s vet. We’re the one standing shoulder-to-shoulder with (the veterinarians) in the field