The test can be employed to check imported pork products for the virus before they reach the market
MatMaCorp’s device and test can detect the virus that causes African swine fever in raw pork products. (Credit: Marion Streiff/Pixabay.)
US-based scientific equipment supplier MatMaCorp has announced that its DNA testing platform can detect African swine fever (ASF) virus in uncooked pork.
The company partnered with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate to test technologies designed to detect the disease.
ASF is a high-threat transboundary animal disease that is often fatal to pigs but poses no threat to human health.
The disease, which has been reported across Asia, Europe, and Africa, has no approved vaccine as of now.
With the help of MatMaCorp’s test, the virus was detected in all the sample types that were tested.
DHS S&T scientists assessed virus-infected samples from meat muscle as well as from bone marrow and spleen.
MatMaCorp stated that the ability to detect the virus in such samples can help processing plants to monitor for viral contamination before exporting products.
Likewise, the test can be employed to check imported pork products for the virus before they reach the market.
MatMaCorp’s diagnostic platform is devised to swiftly analyse genetic information, including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from any biological sample, at any location.
The platform consists a simple DNA/RNA isolation kit and a custom assay that is run on a small, portable device.
MatMaCorp’s platform offers a cost-effective, simple test for quick detection of African swine fever
MatMaCorp’s platform and test is claimed to be cost-effective and easy to use, since it does not need extensive laboratory equipment and skills and can provide results on-site within hours.
MatMaCorp CEO Phil Kozera said: “An outbreak of African swine fever is a very real threat that could devastate the domestic pork export market, and as developers of diagnostic technologies for science and agriculture, we found it of the utmost importance to make available a genetic test that could potentially help protect our pork supply.
“The MatMaCorp platform provides a cost-effective, simple test for rapid detection of the African swine fever virus, and it could be easily implemented on-site to monitor food imports and exports.”