RALEIGH, NC – The American Kennel Club and the AKC Canine Health Foundation are pleased to debut the next podcast in the Genome Barks series.

This week on Genome Barks we welcome Dr. Christy Petersen of Iowa State University, a specialist in immunology and infectious diseases.  Her research has focused on developing more sensitive and accurate tests to determine the presence of Leishmaniasis (an insect-transmitted disease caused by a protozoan parasite) in dogs.  In this podcast, Dr. Petersen discusses infectious diseases of which breeders and owners should be aware, and signs to look for to determine if your pet has an infectious disease.

The Genome Barks podcast series features lectures from the highly successful AKC-CHF Breeders Symposia. Future podcasts will also provide responsible breeders and pet owners an inside look at the work being done by the AKC and the AKC Canine Health Foundation.

New podcasts are released every two weeks and can be accessed from either the American Kennel Club website at www.akc.org or the AKC Canine Health Foundation website at www.akcchf.org – click on “Podcasts”. They will also be available on Apple's iTunes® and at www.akc-akcchf.libsyn.com.

Clubs are encouraged to add the Genome Barks podcast link to their home pages.