Wednesday, 18 April 2018 14:07

Commercial M. bovis test being developed

Written by 
MPI response director Geoff Gwyn. MPI response director Geoff Gwyn.

A commercial diagnostic tool which will allow farmers to test for cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis themselves is being developed.

The tool is part of a partnership comprising of commercial laboratories, industry representatives and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

The tool will be released once sampling guidelines, a testing strategy and possibly an accreditation programme have been developed – to ensure the test can be accurately applied and interpreted.

MPI response director Geoff Gwyn says since the discovery of Mycoplasma bovis in New Zealand last year the partnership had been working hard to provide practitioners and farmers with better diagnostic tests to assist in detecting the cattle disease on their farms.

“However, while testing options and solutions are becoming available, we have identified that interpreting a one-off test result, even at the herd level, in isolation to other factors, is challenging and carries inherent risk for farmers. The tests currently available will lead to a significant number of farms being falsely identified as positive and farms that may be real positives being missed.

“That’s why we are developing robust processes, including a testing strategy and sampling guidelines which may form part of an accreditation programme.”

The partnership behind the test programme includes representatives from NZ Veterinary Association, Beef & Lamb NZ, DairyNZ, Dairy Companies Association of NZ, Federated Farmers, AsureQuality, MilkTest NZ, Livestock Improvement Corporation, New Zealand Veterinary Pathology, SVS Laboratories and Gribbles Veterinary Pathology.

More like this

M. bovis plan on track

New Zealand's world-first Mycoplasma bovis eradication programme is making great strides but this isn't the time for complacency, says Ospri.

M. bovis plan gets farmer backing

The Government’s plan to implement a National Pest Management Plan (NPMP) for Mycoplasma bovis has been well received by farmers.

Featured

2026 fresh produce trends shaping Kiwi food culture

According to the latest Fresh Produce Trend Report from United Fresh, 2026 will be a year where fruit and vegetables are shaped by cost pressures, rapid digital adoption, and a renewed focus on wellbeing at home.

Editorial: Having a rural voice

OPINION: The past few weeks have been tough on farms across the North Island: floods and storms have caused damage and disruption to families and businesses.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Battle for milk

OPINION: Fonterra may be on the verge of selling its consumer business in New Zealand, but the co-operative is not…

Birth woes

OPINION: What does the birth rate in China have to do with stock trading? Just ask a2 Milk Company.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter