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Mastitis Detectors vs Mastitis Diagnostics: What's the difference?

An in-line mastitis sensor system can detect which cows might have mastitis by picking up changes in the milk. A mastitis diagnostic such as Mastatest is then used to further evaluate a milk sample milk to determine what bacteria is causing it, and help determine how best to manage it. These technologies are complementary in establishing a comprehensive mastitis management approach on your dairy farm.

How do in-line sensors detect mastitis?

Modern dairy farms have a lot of tech on them. One piece of kit that is increasingly common is an in-line sensor that can flag up suspected mastitis cases. Some of these sensors are built in to the system itself, such as on robotic milking systems. Alternatively, others can be retrofitted into existing milking equipment.

Because mastitis is associated with inflammation in the udder, it can alter the composition and properties of the milk. In-line sensor systems work by continuously or periodically measuring specific physical, electrical, or chemical changes in milk, as the cows are being milked.

There are various methods that inline sensors use to detect a possible case of mastitis include the following:

Electrical conductivity:

Inflammation in the udder damages the blood-milk barrier, causing sodium an chloride ions to 'leak' into the milk. This means milk from glands infected by mastitis has higher concentrations of sodium and chloride. This causes an increase in the electrical conductivity of the milk, which can be measured.

Somatic Cell Count:

Cows with mastitis will typically have an elevated somatic cell count (SCC), as the immune system responds to an infection. The number of somatic cells in milk directly affects its viscosity, which can be measured using an automated RMT reaction, or optical sensors.

Milk Composition:

This approach measures key components of the milk itself using optical sensors. Components such as lactose, protein and casein, and fat can all be altered due to inflammation. For example, casein levels and lactose levels can drop due to disruptions in the milk synthesis process in infected milk-producing cells.

Physical abnormalities:

The presence of classic clinical mastitis signs, such as milk clots or blood in the milk, can be picked up through manual stripping processes, but also detected automatically by in-line sensors.

Milking yield and performance:

Drops in milk yield, and changes in milk flow and speed can all indicate a potential issue that requires further investigation.

What does an abnormal in-line sensor result mean?

When an abnormal result on any (or multiple) of these measures is detected, you'll get a notification to act. On some systems this will be on the milking unit itself, and on others there may be a connection to a data system that enables a flag added to your herd records.

Not all 'flagged' cows will definitely have mastitis, and further investigation of the results and testing may well be required.

In-line systems are great for early identification of possible mastitis, and mean you are not just relying on visual identification. In fact, you might find you start picking up more mastitis cases than before.

What they can't do is give a definitive mastitis diagnosis, or inform treatment alone.

Even where a result is strongly indicative of mastitis, further visual assessment of the cow, review of all its signs/symptoms, and investigation will be needed to determine the appropriate next steps.

Not all cases of clinical (or subclinical) mastitis benefit from antibiotic treatment. And its not possible to determine which from the information they'll give you. That's where mastitis diagnostic systems come in.

Mastitis diagnostics inform your next steps:

When you get an alert that indicates a possible mastitis case from an in-line system (or when clinical signs are picked up by a worker), that's when mastitis diagnostics are beneficial.

In order to determine the best treatment plan, you need to know what bacteria might be present. Ideally, you'd also know which antibiotic will be most effective.

To do this, you can send a sample to a laboratory, or your can run an on-farm diagnostic test such as Mastatest. Increasingly, farm teams are preferring to have an on-farm diagnostic system because of the convenience and speed of getting a result.

How on-farm mastitis diagnostic systems work:

On-farm systems use a small sample of milk from a cow, and use microbiological methods to determine what type of bacteria are present. They vary in how they work, how easy they are to use, what information they deliver, and how quickly they return results.

Some will just tell you whether it is a Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria. Others will give more information on the the type of bacteria (E.g. Staph. aureus, Strep. uberis, E.coli etc). This more detailed information is useful for understanding what factors are causing mastitis on your farm, meaning you can put in place specific prevention plans.

One - Mastatest - will also determine which antibiotic will be most effective against the specific bacteria present, using an automated "minimum inhibitory concentration" (MIC) test process.

How can mastitis diagnostic results be used to determine appropriate treatment?

Is it bacterial mastitis?

Confirming the presence of bacteria, and determining it's strain helps to guide whether a mastitis case will benefit from antibiotics.

As many as 10-20% of all mastitis cases may not actually be caused by bacteria. Instead, there may be a physical injury, mastitis as a result of another type of pathogen, or inflammation from another cause. These cases will require non-antibiotic management.

A mastitis diagnostic can easily identify which cases have no bacteria present, enabling these cows to be returned to the milking herd, and managed accordingly.

For this mastitis case should I treat, or not treat?

Some types of bacteria, such as Gram-negative strains like E.coli, are cleared effectively by the cow's immune system without the need for antibiotics. When a mastitis diagnostic detects one of these strains in a milk sample (or detects no bacteria), then the cow can typically be managed by supportive care alone.

Depending on the farming system, as many as 40-50% of all mastitis cases may be causes by a Gram-negative strain that will probably not require management with an antibiotic treatment. Note that any cow with severe clinical signs that is acutely unwell should be treated, and discussed with a veterinarian.

Which antibiotic should be used?

Selecting the optimal treatment can be informed by antibiotic sensitivity testing, which can determine which antibiotic will be most effective at clearing a specific infection.

Until recently, it was only possible to get antibiotic sensitivity testing completed in a laboratory, and it typically took more than 2 days to be returned.

Mastatest has changed that, enabling rapid (within 24 hours) on-farm antibiotic sensitivity testing that can inform the farm team which antibiotic is most likely to effective clear any particular infection.

What other mastitis management measures should I take?

The types of bacteria being detected on a farm, and the patterns of infection across a season, should be closely monitored. Trends can be used to inform a wider mastitis management plan, and inform herd planning measured.

The Mastatest difference:

The Mastatest system makes it quick and easy to run a diagnostic test. Unlike other on-farm systems, no scientific skills are needed. A test can be started in seconds, and requires no additional work-flow steps thereafter. Within 24 hours, you'll be emailed the results that show the bacteria causing the infection, which antibiotic will be most effective, and what the best management plan is according to your vet.

So... Detect, then use a Diagnostic for the best results:

Mastitis diagnostics like Mastatest work very effectively in combination with your in-line mastitis detection system. Customers who use both regularly tell us they have made very significant reductions to their BMSCC, and reductions in the costs of managing mastitis cases.