A new technology to detect tuberculosis in livestock and wild animals could soon be on the market in Western Canada.
The test can detect live bacteria in the blood or milk of livestock as well as in elk and more exotic species in six hours, which will allow affected cattle to be quickly identified.
PBD Biotech, a United Kingdom-based agricultural company, owns the technology.
“Our technology is a completely novel way to approaching tuberculosis disease in animals but also in food safety,” said Berwyn Clarke, chief executive officer of PBD Biotech.
Read Also
VIDEO: British company Antler Bio brings epigenetics to dairy farms
British company Antler Bio is bringing epigenetics to dairy farms using blood tests help tie how management is meeting the genetic potential of the animals.
Clarke announced June 20 the company will establish a Canadian subsidiary in Saskatoon. The expansion will be PBD Biotech’s first venture into North America.
“We’re now really putting things together so that we can raise some investment to set the business up and develop the commercial infrastructure and potentially some manufacturing locally as well,” said Clarke.
He said the company will establish a small manufacturing facility in the city to make research kits, which can be used by veterinary laboratories for testing animal samples for the presence of bacterial infections.
The technology could potentially become a tool to detect and control tuberculosis, Johne’s disease and other mycobacteria diseases in animals as well as humans.
Clarke said that had the application been in place last year, many cattle in Alberta would not have been slaughtered when a bovine TB outbreak occurred.
“Our technology would actually get around that whole problem. It’s a completely different approach to the diagnosis of the disease so that we can unequivocally test whether an animal has got an infection or not without them having to be culled,” he said.
“That allows a much tighter mechanism for disease control. You can identify those animals that are affected and either take them out of the herd or quarantine them, whatever your local management is.
“For farmers it has a massive impact because if you have a bovine TB outbreak, you’re limited with being able to move your animals from one location to another or sell your animals.”
Clarke said the technology was originally developed for human TB, which PBD Biotech has adapted to the veterinary and agriculture setting.
While the price point will be in line with existing technology, he said it will be simpler and faster to use.
“With our tests, the vet will take a blood sample. They have the results the same day if they get it into the lab in time,” he said.
The company visited Saskatoon last year and participated in the Agriculture Technology Harvest Program organized by the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA).
During that time it won the Ag in Motion Innovation Award.
