Funding helps continue TB programmes

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Recently awarded Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST) funding will see AgResearch continue a programme to research the development of a bovine tuberculosis vaccine for possums.

AgResearch section manager for animal health, Dr Wayne Hein, said the main goal of the research was to produce an improved tuberculosis (TB) vaccine that could eradicate bovine TB from wildlife.

He said the deployment of such a vaccine could replace the use of 1080 poison to some extent and at the same time increase the chances of complete eradication of the disease from wildlife.

Completion of the vaccine programme will require a further six years of research and the recent FRST funding has approved a further two years for the programme to continue.

Another programme conducted by AgResearch is to continue the development of a vaccine to protect cattle against bovine tuberculosis that performs better than the live human TB vaccine, known as BCG.

In previous studies from the group it was shown that a non-living protein TB vaccine, used in conjunction with the live human tb vaccine, provided enhanced protection of cattle against TB compared to that induced by using the human tb vaccine alone.

The disadvantage of using the live human TB vaccine in cattle is that it is not totally effective and its use compromises the existing test to diagnose TB in cattle. The first two years will involve collaboration between scientists from AgResearch, Massey University and Industrial Research Ltd.

Dr Hein said when produced the vaccine would need to be trialled in the field.