New test to detect Trichinella in pigs

The current method of routinely performing post-slaughter testing of each carcass at the slaughterhouse by artificial digestion is costly and relatively insensitive. The new PrioCHECK(R) Trichinella Ab ELISA test has proven significantly more reliable and highly sensitive as well as specific for the detection of antibodies against Trichinella in serum and meat juice samples of pigs. The assay detects Trichinella spp. in infected pigs with a larval load of 0.02 larva/g pig meat.

Costly testing
Trichinellosis is listed in the European Commission (EC) Zoonoses Directive, which requires that the meat of millions of pigs, horses and game undergo mandatory inspection. Within the European Union (EU), the total cost of carcass testing of pigs for Trichinellosis at slaughter is approximately €500 million annually. Consequently, reducing testing costs while at the same time increasing the sensitivity of Trichinella detection, achieved by an alternative risk-based surveillance system for Trichinellosis in domestic pigs, is currently under discussion.

Faster and more sensitive
Experts believe that the cost of carcass testing could be drastically reduced by implementing risk-based monitoring programs, where regular testing of blood or meat juice samples of only a random sample of pigs would need to be carried out. The new Prionics PrioCHECK(R) Trichinella Ab is the ideal diagnostic tool for this type of testing scenario as it detects disease-specific antibodies in serum or meat juice and is faster, more sensitive, and less laborious than currently used methods.

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