Rapid Test Gets Licensing Agreement
UK - The Institute of Animal Health has entered into a worldwide exclusive partnership with QIAGEN N.V., which will bring their novel molecular assay design for bluetongue onto the market in 2009.
15 January 2009
1 minute read
According to the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the cador BTV RT-PCR kit allows fast and highly sensitive detection of all 24 known strains of the bluetongue virus; including BTV-6 which caused the latest outbreak of the disease in the Netherlands, and BTV-1, which has spread from North Africa, up to the north coast of France, threatening the UK.
The latest BBSRC magazine explains that because many symptoms of the disease are not specific to bluetongue, there is a growing demand for fast, reliable laboratory tests, which might help to contain future outbreaks.
Simone Gauch, Global Marketing Director Applied Testing at QIAGEN. “A major advantage of this test is that it can be used to test vaccinated animals, which may be infected with other BTV serotypes. This has been impossible using
traditional diagnostic methods, because the antibodies present in vaccinated animals are too similar to antigens produced during a new infection. Molecular testing solutions such as the cador BTV RT-PCR assay eliminate this loophole.”
“The combination of IAH know-how in bluetongue testing with QIAGEN’s reputation in sample preparation and assay technologies creates a powerful, new diagnostic tool to quickly identify infected animals and thus help to contain bluetongue outbreaks that are likely to occur in the future”, said Professor Peter Mertens, Head of Arbovirus Research at IAH.
