A real waste of livestock
Johne's Disease is a chronic, contagious and sometimes fatal infection of cattle, sheep, deer and goats.
It claims this could save New Zealand's dairy industry $40-90 million a year in lost production.
Johne's disease is a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP). When MAP gets to the small intestine it finds an ideal breeding ground, and although white blood cells attempt to fight off the invader - for reasons unknown to science - it overpowers the white blood cells and spreads to infect other cells.
As the infection progresses the intestinal walls thicken up preventing nutrient absorption, leading to diarrhoea, muscle wasting, which can eventually lead to death. Some cattle can have Johne's disease and spread it but are asymptomatic (show no symptoms).
Pictor's director of research and development Dr Natasha Gordon, who recently presented at a Johne's disease conference in Dublin, says the test would be a positive addition to national control programmes and help in the eradication of Johne's disease from the NZ dairy industry.
"Our PictArray MAP assay (test) could facilitate improved biosecurity and support trade because tests can be performed quickly and accurately when importing, exporting or moving livestock and associated products between local locations without the risk of spreading infection," she told Rural News.
The new PictArray multiplex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technology allows up to nine biomarkers (disease indicators) to be tested in a single well of the testing plate. This feature increases the information gained by the clinical testing laboratory, enabling improved disease management on the farm.
Pictor says conventional ELISA take a snapshot of a disease at one moment in time, while the PictArray multiplex allows complex diseases to be monitored through different stages of infection. It does this by using biomarkers that present at different time points during the infection cycle - including asymptomatic stages.
Earlier detection of Johne's disease would allow infected animals to be removed from herds sooner, minimising transmission.
The research project is led by Pictor in a collaboration with Massey University senior lecturer Dr Rao Dukkipati and build on long-term research at Massey University by Associate Professor Alan Murray. Pictor received a $404,040 grant from the Ministry for Primary Industries' Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund to develop the test and Pictor has filed a patent application for it.
