Volatolomics test for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis

Project Information

bTB-Test

Grant agreement ID: 777832

DOI

10.3030/777832

Project terminated on 31 December 2019

EC signature date 17 October 2017

Start date 1 January 2018

End date 31 December 2021

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 1 404 000,00

EU contribution

€ 1 395 000,00

Coordinated by

UPPSALA UNIVERSITET
Sweden

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - bTB-Test (Volatolomics test for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis)

Reporting period: 2018-01-01 to 2019-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Bovine tuberculosis is a serious global disease with significant impact on animal health, public health, and international trade. Bovine tuberculosis can be transmitted to humans by drinking unpasteurized milk from an infected cow or eating raw or undercooked meat from an infected animal. Therefore, accurate and efficient detection of bovine tuberculosis in animal populations remains of paramount importance for bovine tuberculosis control programs. The overall objective of this project is the development a new diagnosis test for bovine tuberculosis, suitable for being performed directly on the premises in an inexpensive, fast and non-invasive way, from the analysis of volatile compounds emitted by biological samples such as breath, feces and animals skin.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

It was elaborated an optimized protocol for the collection of volatile samples emitted through the breath, feces and skin of cattle. Based on this protocol, 400 animals were samples in different countries from different continents: Romania, Tunisia, Algeria and Colombia. The analytical studies of the samples led to the identification of 6 tentative volatile biomarkers of bovine tuberculosis emitted through cattle breath, 13 tentative volatile biomarkers emitted through cattle feces, and 3 tentative volatile biomarkers emitted through cattle skin.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

This is the first time that volatile biomarkers emitted through cattle feces and skin were proposed. The results of this project could lead to a new, non-invasive and faster test for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis in cattle, with great impact on the livestock management.

Skin volatiles sampling

Breath sampling