A new, low-cost test for foot and mouth disease is the first that can distinguish all seven strains of the virus and distinguish infected from vaccinated animals, claims an Australian research organization. 
A pig snout affected by foot and mouth virus
Photo: CSIRO
The test, developed by the Australian Animal Health Laboratory of the Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization (CSIRO), uses no infectious viral material, and has applications wherever the cost of producing reagents is a critical factor.
The diagnostic uses recombinant antibodies to distinguish between infected and vaccinated animals. Other so-called "DIVA" tests rely on antibody reagents produced through animal immunization or hybridoma cell lines. These can be difficult and costly to prepare and maintain in a quality-assured manner and in sufficient quantities for post-outbreak surveillance, says the CSIRO. Recombinant antibodies, on the other hand, can be produced in large quantities at low cost.
"Our test is the first in the world to be built entirely from non-living materials produced in the laboratory," said Dr Janine Muller, now a research scientist with the Victoria Department of Primary Industries.
The CSIRO said that the test had proved effective in small-scale trials, and that it planned to conduct further trials with larger numbers of animals to validate it for routine diagnostic application.
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