6 Jan 2020
“It [Actiphage] is not dependent on an immune system response to the pathogen and so has greater sensitivity than the official Tuberculin SICCT skin test” – vet Robert Price-Jones.
Vet Times
Job Title
A dairy farm on the Welsh west coast stricken by bTB is the first to gain permission to trial PBD Biotech’s Actiphage blood test for Mycobacterium bovis.
Mossman Farming in Ceredigion is located in an area of chronic breakdown. It is a spring-calving milking herd with a total stock of 529; to date, 312 dairy cows have been slaughtered.
Farmer Chris Mossman agreed to trial Actiphage after hearing about the rapid test’s use as part of a successful private eradication plan on a Devon dairy farm in Gatcombe.
In November 2019, to help accelerate the development of alternatives to the current tests, the Welsh Government issued a new policy that set out the conditions needed for authorised use of non-validated tests in a cattle herd affected by a bTB breakdown.
Mr Mossman said: “TB is a massive problem in Ceredigion, so when I heard about Actiphage’s use at Gatcombe, helping to clear that dairy herd for the first time in six years, I wanted to try to replicate those findings here.
“Me – and many other farmers – are losing large numbers of animals. I’m trying to do all I can to get rid of this disease from my herd.”
In spring 2019, the office of the CVO for Wales granted permission for vet Robert Price-Jones to use Actiphage to screen high-risk cattle for M bovis.
Mr Price-Jones said: “Actiphage is able to identify the presence of relatively low numbers of M bovis in the blood stream of infected cattle. It is not dependent on an immune system response to the pathogen – in contrast to current validated tests – and so has greater sensitivity than such as the official Tuberculin SICCT skin test.
“The benefit of using Actiphage is it offers the potential for eradicating the disease from the farm; as early identification of animals at risk of bTB enables heightened disease management and control.”
Under the terms of the Welsh Government’s protocol, cattle not condemned for slaughter can be tested with Actiphage. Those that give a positive result are identified with a “management” marker, monitored and milked separately.
To prevent further contamination of the environment and to minimise risk to uninfected cattle, animals found to be shedders are removed from the farm.
A record 12,799 cattle have been slaughtered in Wales alone this past year because of bTB – a 28% increase year on year, with one region recording a 190% increase.
PBD Biotech is encouraging more farmers to participate in further trials. The company is offering reduced cost testing to support trials where the findings are made available to support validation of the test.
