Jade35
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Pirbright: pooled milk can be used for FMD surveillance
A case study undertaken by scientists at The Pirbright Institute is the first to confirm that milk obtained from in-line milk samplers on a large-scale dairy farm can be used to detect circulating foo
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A case study undertaken by scientists at The Pirbright Institute is the first to confirm that milk obtained from in-line milk samplers on a large-scale dairy farm can be used to detect circulating foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in cattle.
Previous work carried out by the team had shown that it was possible to detect FMDV from the milk of infected cattle, opening up the potential for this sampling method to supplement existing techniques for FMD surveillance.
The new study, published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, set out to assess the practicalities of using such a sampling method in the field. By testing 732 pooled milk samples from a large dairy farm in Saudi Arabia, scientists were able to demonstrate that specific strains of FMDV could be detected in milk during an outbreak.
and final comment
Around 4000 cattle were housed at the farm in the study, which used systems comparable to those in many countries that are FMD-free, highlighting the potential for this approach to be utilised in disease-free regions in the event of an outbreak. This would allow the rapid identification of infected herds to help trace the source and spread of infection, as well as providing a way of screening infected premises to ensure disease freedom.
Possibly too simplistic but what is wrong with bulk tank milk samples
