UDDERCHECK: knowing about prevalences of pathogens causing bovine mastitis
The “M² Magazine” (a bovine mastitis and milk quality publication for the dairy professional), published in November this paper about a new tool to detect bovine mastitis pathogens and its diagnostic.
As explained in the previous post, the Animal Health company HIPRA has recently developed a useful tool for a correct bovine mastitis control program. We’re talking about UDDERCHECK, a new diagnostic tool that allows farmers and vets to detect more pathogens causing bovine mastitis.
More and more veterinarians and dairy farmers are aware of the pathogens causing bovine mastitis on their farms but is very interesting to know what is happening on a neighbour’s farm, the biggest farm in the region or just in another country. Thanks to farmers and vets across Europe, HIPRA has analyzed 8,626 samples from 2011 to 2016. The samples were processed and tested using the Real-Time Multiplex PCR assay(1), to detect the presence of Streptococcus uberis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Coagulase Negative Staphylococci (CNS) and coliforms.
Real-time PCR is a new diagnostic technology with more accurate detection which also works in cows in treatment. The special card that is attached, called an FTA card, makes the sampling procedure, transportation and management of the sample in the lab much easier. For this reason, testing bacteria targeted by the vaccination and their significance in a sample of bulk milk tank and a representative group of sick animals, enables a general overview to be obtained of the dairy farm and of the affected animals.
RESULTS
The graph below shows the trends in bacteria causing bovine mastitis over the last 6 years:
One thing is definitely very clear- a significant trend is observed in Europe with more environmental pathogens like Strep. uberis and E. coli. Moreover, this indicates that as environmental pathogens are becoming more prevalent on farms, this will present a higher risk of Strep. uberis becoming a serious new threat to farms all over Europe.
Many vets and farmers already recognize Strep. uberis as an emerging pathogen on their farms. Some of the main features of this pathogen are the clinical outcome of infection, high levels of individual SCC and extended treatment protocols which are frequently repeated. For all these reasons, mastitis caused by Streptococcus uberis requires a new approach as well as new tools which help to control and prevent this threat.
SUMMARY
A world without mastitis will never exist as long as we produce milk from dairy cows. Nowadays, we should pay more attention to mastitis caused by environmental pathogens such as Strep. uberis. For this reason, we are able to support you with a useful new tool known as UDDERCHECK which helps to identify pathogenic bacteria present in milk samples. Thanks to its parameters (high specificity and sensitivity), UDDERCHEK avoids the limitations experienced with standard bacteriology.
In other words, with this new diagnostic tool, the company HIPRA makes even bigger its wide range of solutions to help us to succeed in the fight against bovine mastitis!
by Michal Pochodyla, CPM, HIPRA
REFERENCES
1. Menezes, A., Guix, R., Zalduendo, D., Valls, L. and Maldonado, J. 2012. STARTCHECK®: A New PCR Diagnostic tool for Bovine Mastitis Management. Laboratorios HIPRA S.A., Avda. La Selva 135, 17170 Amer (Girona), Spain.
2. Valls, L., Lazaro, M., Jubert, A., Guix, R. and Maldonando, J. 2010. A New methodology for detection and quantification of pathogenic bacteria in bovine bulk tank milk. Proc. EAVLD 1st Congress.
