Aberystwyth University scientists credited in potential bovine TB breakthrough

Two skin tests for cattle have been developed by an international team of scientists that can distinguish between animals that are infected with bovine TB and those that have been vaccinated against the disease.

Two skin tests for cattle have been developed by an international team of scientists that can distinguish between animals that are infected with bovine TB and those that have been vaccinated against the disease.

17 July 2019

Research by two Aberystwyth scientists has paved the way for a possible breakthrough in the worldwide fight against Bovine TB.

As published in the July 17 issue of Science Advances, two skin tests for cattle have been developed that can distinguish between animals that are infected with bovine TB and those that have been vaccinated against the disease. 

The combination of the essential proteins which enable the differentiation between vaccinated cattle and positive cases of bTB was established by the teams of Professor Glyn Hewinson and Professor Martin Vordermeier of Aberystwyth University whilst working at the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

Building on their work, the two skin tests have been created by an international team of scientists from Ethiopia, India, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the USA.

The project has been supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government.

The traditional TB skin test shows a positive result for cows that have the disease as well as those that have been vaccinated against it. 

Developed in the early 1900s from the bacterium that causes TB in cattle, the vaccine has remained largely unused to vaccinate cattle and it is prohibited throughout the European Union, as well as in the United States and many other countries.

By distinguishing between vaccinated and infected cattle, the new tests will facilitate the implementation of vaccination programs globally that could considerably reduce the transmission of this infectious bacterial disease from cattle to humans.

The new test will now have to be evaluated in field trials to a level recommended by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

Further, regulatory issues including demonstrating their safety will also have to be addressed.  Such studies are already under way in the UK and in India.

Professor Glyn Hewinson leads the newly established Centre of Excellence for Bovine TB at Aberystwyth University.

The Centre is backed by Sêr Cymru II which is funded by Welsh Government, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, participating Welsh Higher Education institutions and the European Regional Development Fund through Welsh Government.

Professor Hewinson said: “We have worked for over 20 years on developing vaccines and diagnostic tests for bovine tuberculosis.  It would wonderful if either of these tests succeeds in bringing about significant improvements in the control of bovine TB globally.  Such a development would represent the culmination of a great deal of work by dedicated and talented scientists from around the world, and a significant step forward in our efforts to control this disease.

“These tests have been developed as a consequence of elucidating the genetic composition of the bacteria that causes bovine TB and a considerable number of studies on how cattle respond to TB infection and vaccination.  These are areas of investigation that we will continue here at the Centre of Excellence for Bovine TB at Aberystwyth University.” 

Professor Martin Vordermeier of the Centre of Excellence for Bovine TB at Aberystwyth University said: “Development of these tests is a crucial step on the long and challenging journey to implement cattle TB vaccine programmes to reduce the burden of this intractable disease. Without such tests, traditional test and slaughter control strategies could not be pursued alongside vaccination, nor could vaccine efficacy and disease prevalence be effectively monitored in vaccinated animals in countries where such control strategies are unaffordable or societally not acceptable.  I am very privileged to be on this journey in the company of so many dedicated colleagues from so many countries.”