PCR Rapidly Detects Campylobacter in Poultry

The launch of the test was announced by Warnex Inc. (Laval, Canada). With no enrichment required, the test detects and quantifies Campylobacter in poultry rinses within three hours. "There is an increasing need for rapid tests that detect this pathogen,” said Mark Busgang, president and CEO of Warnex. "In Europe, new regulations for decreasing the incidence of Campylobacter infection are imminent. Our test, which detects and quantifies the pathogen, can be instrumental in assisting food companies in improving the safety of their products.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA), Campylobacter is one of the most common bacterial causes of diarrhea, with an estimated 2.4 million cases every year in the United States alone. In addition to diarrhea, Campylobacter infections in humans cause cramping, abdominal pain, and fever, and occasionally cause a serious life-threatening infection for people with weakened immune systems.

Warnex's Campylobacter test detects and quantifies three species of this pathogen: Campylobacter jejuni, C coli, and C lari, which account for 99% of reported Campylobacter cases. "This test is the first in our strategy to produce a series of real-time PCR quantification tests,” said Mr. Busgang. The test will be commercially available in April 2006.



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