VIDEO: TB cattle vaccine and DIVA test
The European Commission has suggested a 10-year timetable for the introduction of a cattle vaccine, which may be an important tool in the fight to eradicate bovine TB.
As part of government control strategies for the disease, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) is developing improved diagnostics – the DIVA test – that distinguish vaccinated from infected animals.
Professor Glyn Hewinson (pictured), chief scientist at the AHVLA, explains how the DIVA test could work alongside a cattle vaccine by allowing farmers to separate TB positive animals from uninfected animals in the field.