ZURICH, February 13 /PRNewswire/ --
-- USDA Approves a Johne's Disease Test for Bovine Milk for the First Time
Prionics, a world leader in farm animal diagnostics, has received approval for the extended use of its Johne's disease test Parachek(R). With the original test kit for the diagnosis of paratuberculosis, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has for the first time officially validated a product for the testing of bovine milk samples. The ELISA test Parachek(R) is widely used for the detection of antibodies to Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in the serum of cattle, sheep and goats.
Within the nationwide US Voluntary Johne's Control Program, the USDA has for the first time validated a Johne's disease test for bovine milk. The program has been designed to address the growing concern about Johne's disease and with immediate effect Parachek(R) can now be used by milk producers. The ELISA test from Prionics enables dairy producers to use milk samples - routinely collected as part of the Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) system - for Johne's diagnosis.
"Johne's disease continues to be widespread and still leads to significant economic damage on a global scale. In collaboration with Antel Biosystem Inc., we successfully obtained extended permission for our proven Parachek(R) test kit, allowing our customers to benefit from an additional field of application", says Dr. Markus Moser, CEO Prionics.
Connection with Morbus Crohn suspected
After having successfully collaborated with the US diagnostics specialist Antel Biosystems (www.antelbio.com) for approval in the US, Prionics will continue this partnership for the distribution in North America. This allows Prionics to rapidly build up distribution and support with broad geographic coverage. In Europe and other countries, the use of Parachek(R) for the diagnosis of paratuberculosis in milk samples is already permitted.
In general, the early detection of diseases like Johne's disease in the food chain is becoming increasingly important. Highly resistant to pasteurization, the paratuberculosis bacteria can present a potential risk in the case of human exposure. According to recent studies, there is an assumed connection between Johne's disease and Morbus Crohn, a chronic form of enteritis in humans. For the latter condition, no cure has been found to date.
For more information please visit www.prionics.com/media or contact:
Markus Abt
Head of Corporate Communications
Phone: +41-44-200-20-95
Mobile: +41-79-352-53-16
E-mail: media@prionics.com
Markus Abt, Head of Corporate Communications, Phone: +41-44-200-20-95, Mobile: +41-79-352-53-16, E-mail: media@prionics.com
