On-Site Diagnostic Test for Mad Cow Disease

A new lateral flow strip test has been developed for detecting bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), known as mad cow disease, in cattle. The test is designed to be similar to a home pregnancy test and to be used on-site using bovine brain tissue, providing results in less than five minutes.

The test was developed by Prion Developmental Laboratories, Inc. (PDL, New York, NY, USA) and has been tested by scientists at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH, USA). To date, PDL says there are no rapid tests that can be performed at the slaughterhouse to ensure that BSE infected cattle do not enter the human food chain. The company also states that its test platform has been used to successfully detect prion diseases in the brain tissue of other animals and humans.

Researchers in Israel recently discovered prions in urine. Studies have shown that the protein can be found in urine well before symptoms appear, which researchers have been working to validate. PDL has confirmed the presence of prions in urine samples of infected animals by using its proprietary reagents. Research is currently under way to adapt the PDL test for analysis of urine samples. PDL says this would provide the world's first practical pre-mortem diagnostic test for BSE. Once the test has been proven in cattle, development and completion of a similar test for other animals and for humans would be accelerated.

"Although focus is on the postmortem tests, we remain committed to our original objective of developing pre-mortem tests for humans and animals,” said David S. Grosky, CEO of PDL.




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Prion Developmental Laboratories (PDL)