The parallel use of BOVIGAM^® with skin tests will significantly increase the success of TB control programs. With BOVIGAM^® for laboratory testing and Tuberculin PPD for skin testing, Prionics offers optimal products for the control of all bovine tuberculosis situations.

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is a serious infectious and chronic disease found in cattle that can result in severe economic losses to farming operations. Transmission of the disease to humans is possible and could cause significant public health issues. Without appropriate control measures bovine TB spreads quickly. As prescribed by the OIE (World Organization for Animal Health), TB control programs worldwide are obliged to use the intradermal skin test using tuberculin PPD as the primary test for international trade in live animals.

Parallel testing increases TB control efficiency
The BOVIGAM^® test is often used as an ancillary test. There is strong evidence that the parallel use of BOVIGAM^® with a skin test raises the overall sensitivity of TB testing. In a retrospective study on TB positive cattle, 93% of tested animals were detected using both BOVIGAM^® and skin testing, compared to 88% using BOVIGAM^® alone and 60-74% using only a skin test - depending on its interpretation. In areas with high TB prevalence, the use of both the skin test and BOVIGAM^® can enhance the overall diagnostic sensitivity by up to 20% compared to using only a skin test. The benefits are clear: The parallel use of BOVIGAM^® with a skin test will significantly increase the success of TB control programs. With the Lelystad Tuberculin PPD and BOVIGAM^®, Prionics provides high quality diagnostic solutions for both skin testing and laboratory testing.

Increased flexibility with BOVIGAM^®
BOVIGAM^® is a flexible diagnostic tool that can be used both in TB hot spots and in areas where TB is less of a problem, simply by changing the cut-off limits. The cut-off limits can be adjusted to make the BOVIGAM^® results more specific and more sensitive. In TB hot spots, removing as many infected animals as possible from herds is of great importance. However, in areas where TB is less of a problem, there is a greater wish for saving healthy animals. The ability to adjust BOVIGAM^® test specificity enables veterinarians to easily identify infected animals and avoid losing healthy stock. An additional benefit is the reduction in compensation payouts, where applicable.