The health and well-being of cattle is an important issue in maintaining and increasing global agricultural output. In dairy production within low and middle income countries (LMICs), there is a significant biosensing challenge in detecting sexually transmitted infection (STI) pathogens during animal husbandry, due in part to difficulties associated with the limited infrastructure for veterinary medicine. Here we demonstrate low-cost, multiplexed, and sample-to-answer paper-origami tests for the detection of three bovine infectious reproductive diseases in semen samples, collected at a test site in rural India. Pathogen DNA from one viral pathogen, bovine herpes virus-1 (BoHV-1), and two bacteria (Brucella and Leptospira) was extracted, amplified (using loop-mediated isothermal amplification, LAMP), and detected fluorescently, enabling <1 pg (∼ from 115 to 274 copies per reaction) of target genomic DNA to be measured. Data was collected as a fluorescence signal either visually, using a low-cost hand-held torch, or digitally with a mobile-phone camera. Limits of detection and sensitivities of the paper-origami device for the three pathogens were also evaluated using pathogen-inoculated semen samples and were as few as 50 Leptospira organisms, 50 CFU Brucella, and 1 TCID50 BoHV-1. Semen samples from elite bulls at a germplasm center were also tested in double-blind tests, as a demonstrator for a low-cost, user-friendly point-of-care sensing platform, for in-the-field resource-limited regions. The sensors showed excellent levels of sensitivity and specificity, and for the first time a demonstrated ability of the application of paper microfluidics devices for the diagnosis multiple infectious diseases from semen samples.
Keywords: diagnosis; infectious disease; microfluidics; nucleic-acid based tests; paper.