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Grant funding has been received to start live testing for CWD in Saskatchewan game farms! This is a very exciting development for our industry, with the potential to change how positive farm cases are handled in future. A presentation at our annual conference in 2019 by Brian Zwaan of Prairie Diagnostics explains the process, follow the link to watch the full video presentation HERE.
RAMALT (Rectoanal Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue) testing has been used in Texas for many years on over 100,000 deer and is recognized by the Saskatchewan government as an effective live test for CWD in deer. This grant program is to explore the effectiveness of the test on elk. The funds are going towards training veterinarians and testing animals, creating a large sample size that will determine the accuracy of this test. If successful, in the future producers with a positive case on their farm may have to option of live testing to determine what steps they take next. Here is a link to an interview given by our own Harvey Petracek, Sask CCA rep on the appeal of this test for all producers. https://www.highriveronline.com/local/new-testing-method-could-increase-biosecurity-in-elk-herd-populations
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