... new and more environment friendly production methods to improve animal health and welfare including research on animal diseases such as foot and mouth disease, swine fever and development of marker vaccines;
The marker vaccines principle
A cow infected with the IBR-virus forms antibodies against the virus. With laboratory tests these antibodies can be detected in milk and blood. Vaccination of a cow with the conventional vaccine, results in the production of antibodies that are similar to antibodies against the field virus. Therefore, milk and blood tests do not discriminate between infected and conventionally vaccinated animals.
The marker vaccine however, misses the glycoproteine E (gE-deleted vaccine) which is part of the IBR virus. If cows are tested for IBR with the gE-ELISA test, it is possible to detect infected animals, while vaccinated non-infected animals will be identified as IBR-free. The test runs in serum, milk and bulkmilk.
