A Hallmark of Quality

Our faecal PCR test hallmark of quality.

Every year, the DRL laboratory participates in blinded proficiency panel testing for Johne’s disease, administered through the US National Veterinary Services Laboratory, Ames, Iowa as part of an ongoing international accreditation programme for diagnostic laboratories.

These proficiency panels include serum, milk and faecal samples recovered from animals of a range of predetermined Jd infection status and faecal culture titres, including a proportion of negative samples, and are distributed annually to diagnostic and research laboratories in the US and internationally for blind testing.

In order to pass the faecal panels, a participating laboratory must correctly identify all critical‐high shedding samples as positive, all negative samples as negative and must correctly classify 70% of the remaining samples (low and moderate shedding animals). A pooled panel also serves to validate pooled PCR methods. Results are then used to accredit testing services for Johne’s disease diagnostic testing in the US and elsewhere may be considered a high caliber, independent validation of laboratory testing performance.

In 2019, a total of 60 diagnostic laboratories participated in the faecal PCR panels (7 Canadian, 3 European Union, 1 New Zealand, 2 Australian and 47 USA laboratories) – DRL are proud to be the only NZ laboratory attaining this high standard of diagnostic precision for Johne’s faecal PCR, and also for milk and serum ELISA, since we first voluntarily enrolled with the proficiency programme in 2008. We continue to strive for and maintain these very highest standards of diagnostic accuracy each and every day.

A link to the 2019 list of APHIS approved laboratories is available here.