The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic Islands of Fiji comments that it has recently become aware of the benefits of Actiphage; PBD Biotech’s rapid diagnostic for Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) and Tuberculosis in humans.
Recognising the current gaps in the technology for detecting these diseases, the Ministry has invited Ben to come to Fiji and discuss the Actiphage test, which offers diagnosis from a single blood or milk sample.
The Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication and Control programme commenced in Fiji during the 1980s and has since been sustained by government funding and industry cooperation.
A retrospective review by the University of Sydney, conducted with support from the Government of Fiji, found bTB to be well established in many dairy cattle farms across the country. To address this, a new stakeholder forum was established in 2017 and a new BTEC strategy formulated and endorsed.
Actiphage offers an improvement over the existing bTB skin test as it can detect viable mycobacteria, the pathogen that causes the disease. By detecting bTB at an early stage, before the animal becomes infectious, it provides an accurate diagnosis and an opportunity to manage the disease.
More information about using Actiphage to tackle bTB is available on our Bovine Tuberculosis page.
