A RELIABLE and cost-effective rapid antigen test for facial eczema may be available to Eastern Bay farmers in a year following a breakthrough at a Taranaki-based biotech company.

Tokaora Diagnostics is a small start-up company that is working on the development of a RAT test that will allow farmers to test their animals onsite and treat them accordingly.

Managing director Pam Livingston said although the RAT test was not yet available, the company had the indicator that could be converted into the RAT test.

Her son and chief researcher, Frey Livingston, developed the indicator while undertaking his masters degree at Victoria University.

“He has proven a reliable indictor for facial eczema that can be incorporated into a RAT test,” she said.

“This means that the farmer will be able to test his own animals onsite, very reliably and cost-effectively.

“We imagine that the test will be used for surveillance testing at the onset of the facial eczema season,” she said.

The test could provide accurate information about what animals have the disease and which animals are free of it.

“At the moment, farmers are dosing blind and they may well be starting too early or too late,” Ms Livingston said.

With zinc not being very good for the animals, she said it was important to apply it at the right time and at the right volumes – the test was a tool that could help the farmer achieve this.

Ms Livingston said there had not been any notable improvement in the way facial eczema was being treated and managed over the past several years – and this was “quite a breakthrough”.

“Another way that you can use this test is when you’re buying animals – you can instantly test them to know if they are affected by the disease,” she said.

“Because, as you know, it’s only the worst five percent that show physical symptoms.”

These 95 percent non-symptomatic, yet affected animals,  mean facial eczema is “an invisible problem”.

“The test will provide better information for the farmers to manage their herds.”

Having received funding from AGMARDT and MPI to complete the current stage of the project, Tokaora Diagnostics is now seeking funding for the next stage.

“At this point, we’re just looking for funding to complete the project,” Ms Livingston said.

If everything goes smoothly, the facial eczema RAT test could be available to New Zealand customers in a year.