07/05/05 A live BSE test?

American Rancher July 5, 2005 A Canadian company expects to market the world's first live BSE test this fall. Vacci-Test Corporation in Calgary, Alberta, claims the test can be done for 20 dollars an animal with results in 30 minutes. Company director and former Canadian Agriculture Minister, Charlie Mayer, says the test looks for a protein marker that identifies whether an infectious brain disease of any kind is in the blood. Mayer says the company has filed test results with appropriate health agencies in Canada and Europe for validation. Mayer. "And we have also kept the Americans up to date, APHIS and we also are in the process of talking to the Japanese. So we think once this is accredited and validated it can be used for us to get into the Japanese market and eventually the American market again." Currently BSE testing can only be done on a dead animal, so Mayer believes the implications of a live test are huge. Mayer: "Well if we can change that to doing a live test and we can certify an animal before it leaves the farm that it is free of BSE, it seems to me that changes the equation pretty significantly. In fact, probably completely." I'm Bob Hoff.