The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has given the green light for the extended use of Parachek^® for bovine milk samples. Parachek^®, a diagnostic test to detect Paratuberculosis (ParaTB) in cattle, is the first test of its kind with an official USDA approval for milk testing. Left untreated ParaTB can cause serious economic damage to the cattle industry. Most recently, there has also been evidence to support a link between ParaTB and Crohn's disease in humans. Prionics' Paracheck^® offers reduced turnaround time and ease of use from the collection of milk samples through processing to reporting, paving the way for cost efficient, smaller meshed surveillance programs.

Prionics' Parachek^® is the first ParaTB test kit with an official USDA approval for use with milk samples. The ELISA test - which can now be used on the milk of cattle as well as with serum of cattle, sheep and goats - reliably detects antibodies specific to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis. It has been developed specifically for livestock diagnostic purposes and herd control of Para TB, also called Johne's disease. The USDA approval paves the way for the adoption of the test in state-funded Johne's programs in the U.S. The use of Parachek^® will likely result in an increase in the number of animals tested for ParaTB because routinely collected samples can be analyzed easily and cost effectively. Prionics will work in cooperation with the U.S.-based AntelBio, a recognized animal testing center, to commercialize Parachek^® for milk testing.

Suspected link with Crohn's disease
ParaTB is a widespread contagious, chronic and usually fatal enteric infection that affects mostly cattle. The causative bacterium survives pasteurization and could be a risk to human health. Increasing scientific evidence indicates a link between ParaTB and Crohn's disease, an incurable chronic inflammation of the enteric system in humans. The existence of ParaTB has been reported in every continent. In the U.S. up to 18 percent of slaughtered cows suffered from Johne's disease. Experts estimate the economic damage to the farming sector from ParaTB to be several millions of U.S. dollars a year.