Prionics Rapid BSE Test Helps Identify New Strain of Mad Cow Disease in Italy

Prionics®-Check Western is the only rapid test capable of identifying new strain

19-Feb-2004

Zurich, Switzerland. Prionics AG, the world leader in testing procedures for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), today issued the following statement regarding the discovery of a new form of mad cow disease in Italy: "We are proud that the Prionics®-Check WESTERN rapid BSE test played an instrumental role in identifying this second form of mad cow disease," said Dr. Bruno Oesch, co-CEO of Prionics, AG. "While we don't yet know the health implications or prevalence of this new strain, its identification confirms the importance of deploying the most accurate and advanced rapid test for surveillance purposes."

Prionics is the only company that offers a rapid BSE test capable of identifying a new BSE strain because this test evaluates tissue samples based on several molecular criteria, such as size and characteristic of the examined protein. The Prionics®-Check WESTERN is the test of choice in Italy and most countries in Europe, as well as in Canada and BSE free countries like Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Chile. It has been used in more than 18 million of the 30 million BSE tests conducted worldwide between 2001 and 2003.

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