December 26, 2019

 

New tuberculosis test Actiphage trialled in Wales

 

The Mossman Farm near Llangrannog, Ceredigion, with more than 300 cattle lost to disease over three years, is the one of the few test sites for the new tuberculosis (TB) test product called Actiphage, reported BBC.

 

The experimental test is carried out with the approval of Wales' chief veterinarian.

 

Actiphage is able to detect TB bacteria directly in cattle's blood or milk in hours, compared to current tests which look for cattle's immune response which may not be obvious. Because of this, some TB-infected cattle continue to spread the infection in farms.

 

The Welsh government has ordered to cull all livestock with inconclusive results from farms to curb the spread of TB, which means some healthy cattle are also affected.

 

In August 2019, 12,799 cattle were slaughtered. This was 28% higher compared to August 2018.

 

Actiphage is developed by PBD Biotech, a Suffolk-based agritech firm. The company is looking to work with other farms in Wales located in TB hotspots as they are in the process of obtaining validation by the World Organisation for Animal Health.

 

Once it is validated, the test can be used widely in the United Kingdom as part of the government's measures to eliminate TB.

 

A paper reporting the findings of the Mossman Farm trial will be published early 2020 by Robert Price-Jones, a farm veterinarian from Llandysul, Ceredigion.

 

He said the potential of Actiphage is to be more certain of test results, as it is able to 100% confirm the existence of TB through cattle's blood. 

 

He added that half of the 30 cattle tested negative on current tests were found to have TB using Actiphage.

 

-      BBC