Host serum biomarkers for diagnosing bovine TB. Towards a point-of-care test.

Lead Research Organisation: Imperial College London
Department Name: Dept of Medicine

Abstract

There is an urgent need for new simple rapid cheap diagnostic method for bovine TB. In a pilot study, funded by the BBSRC, we have found 7 serum protein biomarkers that discriminate between culture positive proven cases of bovine TB from non-infected animals. Two markers have been identified at the molecular level. We propose (1) to validate these 2 markers using an immunologically based test on a separate cohort of TB-infected and non-infected animals and (2) identify the remaining 5 biomarkers at the molecular level and also validate them. The data will be used to formulate a simple point-of-care (POC test) for bovine TB.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description We found the amount of two proteins were higher in the blood of cows with bovine TB compared to those that did not have the disease.
Exploitation Route The next stage is to develop a simple test for the two proteins that can be used on farms.
Sectors Agriculture, Food and Drink