Commercial diagnostic test will take time to develop

A COMMERCIAL diagnostic tool is being developed that will allow farmers to test for Mycoplasma bovis.

The test was being developed by a partnership comprising commercial laboratories, industry representatives and the Ministry for Primary Industries.

It would be released once sampling guidelines, a testing strategy and possibly an accreditation programme had been developed to ensure it could be applied and interpreted accurately.

While testing options and solutions were becoming available, interpreting a oneoff test result, even at the herd level, in isolation from other factors, carried inherent risk, MPI response director Geoff Gwyn said in a statement.

The tests currently available would lead to a ‘‘significant number’’ of farms being falsely identified as positive for the disease and farms that might be real positives being missed.

The partnership behind the test programme included representatives from the NZ Veterinary Association, Beef + Lamb New Zealand, DairyNZ, Dairy Companies Association of NZ, Federated Farmers, AsureQuality, MilkTest NZ, Livestock Improvement Corporation, New Zealand Veterinary Pathology, SVS Laboratories and Gribbles Veterinary Pathology.

NZVA chief veterinary officer Helen Beattie, from Dunedin, said the partnership was focused on helping farmers who were dealing with the many uncertainties around the disease.

‘‘All parties . . . are acutely aware of the need for a robust onfarm solution for farmers who are concerned about Mycoplasma bovis. All parties are working urgently on developing this tool, and all the elements needed to support it,’’ she said.

An accreditation programme was likely to consider test results and factors such as herd management, animal health and record keeping — including NAIT records — all of which would be used to inform farmers of the likely risk of Mycoplasma bovis in their herd.

MPI was continuing to test milk from every dairy farm in New Zealand and that programme was nearly complete.

‘‘Some farmers may be disappointed they don’t have access to a commercial diagnostic tool now . . . However, it’s critically important that we don’t rush this. We have to get it right,’’ Mr Gwyn said.

The number of confirmed infected properties currently stands at 30, and 50 properties are under restricted place notices.