Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination

(asked on 21st May 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to advance the efficacy of the phage vaccine for bovine TB.


Answered by
George Eustice Portrait
George Eustice
This question was answered on 29th May 2018

Defra is not aware of any research on the use of bacteriophages (viruses of bacteria) as vaccines for bovine TB. The current leading vaccine candidate is BCG which is an attenuated strain of the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis and not a bacteriophage.

However, there is a company developing a Phage test to detect TB. I have met with the developers of this test to discuss their work and officials are engaging with them on the regulatory process they need to go through.

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