European bovine virus test now available for U.S. herd management Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory First to Use Bovir
NAAS, Ireland, June 19, 2007 — A highly sensitive test used throughout parts of Europe to accurately detect bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is now available in the United States. BoVir® reagents and a proprietary lysis buffer are being first used in the U.S. by the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (KSVDL).
The BoVir® reagents and innovative lysis buffer were developed by AnDiaTec of Germany, and are currently under national government contract use by the countries of Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and German states.
The newly available BVDV test identifies and differentiates both persistent infection and transient infection, the two types of BVDV infection in cattle. Persistently infected cattle pose a considerable herd management problem in the U.S. cattle with persistent infection remain infected for life, often without the appearance or clinical signs of the disease, shedding large amounts of the virus and introducing the disease to other cattle.
The sensitivity and effectiveness of BoVir® reagents and the proprietary lysis buffer is further validated by European governmental reference labs for an ability to detect all 68 referenced strains of BVDV, including atypical European and American strains, such as HOBI and the H138 strains. The test also gives U.S. herd managers another key advantage in its ability to detect the virus even in newborn calves, something other BVDV testing methods currently cannot do.
“BoVir® reagents and the lysis buffer are highly sensitive and can detect viruses even within the first days of birth when maternal antibodies can mask the infection for up to 120 days,” said AnDiaTec developmental geneticist and company owner, Dr. Johannes Kehle.
AnDiaTec’s proprietary lysis buffer used in the BVDV testing creates added efficacies and efficiencies for U.S. diagnostic labs, according to Dr. Kehle.
“This unique lysis buffer eliminates the need for the costly, labor-intensive, and time-consuming RNA extraction step,” said Dr. Kehle. “Even labs that expect to test over one million animals per year, or 4,000 to 5,000 tests per day can rely on the accuracy of results, ease of processing, and the fast turnaround that this lysis buffer provides.”
“We’re very excited to be the first U.S. laboratory to provide the AnDiaTec reagents to veterinarians and producers of Kansas and the surrounding states,” said Dr. Gary Anderson, Director of the KSVDL. “In the past, PCR technology was viewed as too difficult, unreliable, or too costly to run in a high throughput environment. However, now the KSVDL staff will effectively and efficiently use the simplified AnDiaTec reagents and automation to provide superior results and service for our clients.”
Both of AnDiaTec’s innovations—the BoVir® reagents and the proprietary lysis buffer—are being distributed in the U.S. and worldwide by Enfer Diagnostics. The two BVDV test components have also been submitted to the USDA by Agriculture Professional Services for sale and distribution approval.
AnDiaTec GmbH & Co. (www.andiatec.com) is a privately held company located near Stuttgart, Germany. The company specializes in unique and proprietary reagents for use in human and veterinary diagnostics and detection systems, and performs environmental analytics under commercial lab services.
Headquartered in Naas, Ireland, Enfer Diagnostics (www.enferdiagnostics.com) is a specialized provider of advanced diagnostics to improve animal disease management worldwide. The company is the commercial division of Enfer Scientific (www.enferscientific.com), the first biotechnology company worldwide to develop a rapid test screening system for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Recognized by industry and working to observe the needs of government agencies, Enfer Diagnostics is committed to delivering only the most accurate diagnostics that disease eradication demands. Its worldwide diagnostics distribution also includes BSE screening, and ParaTub®, an automated, high throughput test for the detection of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis (Johne’s disease), an incurable cattle infection impacting the beef and dairy cattle industry.
