The project, entitled “Novel Protein Antigens as a Path to Improve Surveillance and Diagnostics of Bovine Leptospirosis,” aims to significantly improve cattle ranchers’ detection of leptospirosis, a disease caused by the bacteria Leptospira. Ranchers may perform blood tests on their herd, but existing tests are based on leptospirosis research from the 1950s and 1960s, says Wunder. Leptospirosis can cause major economic losses for farmers, as it kills cattle or harms their reproductive and milk-producing capacity. Because of its status as a neglected disease or “disease of poverty,” leptospirosis is less likely to receive research funding and attention. Cattle all over the United States do contract lepto, including strains in the vaccine and new strains.