Development of blood based tests for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis

The objective is to develop blood-based laboratory test for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis (BovTBC). The reason for this is the lack of sensitivity in the intradermal skin test, which is the only test aproved for the diagnosis of BovTBC in the EC. Both cellular and humoral immunity-based tests will be developed. The cellular response to "M.Bovis" will be measured in a bovine interleukin-2 assay. The humoral response will be investigated using new antigen preparations, extracted from "M.bovis" and fusion proteins containing epitopes of significant antigens. The main benefit of the programme is to accelerate the eradication of "M.bovis" from EC cattle herds.