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Bacteriological culture of a milk
sample from an affected quarter
should be the most reliable method
of identifying which pathogen is
causing mastitis, whether clinical or
subclinical. It is vital that the milk
sample cultured is not contaminated
by stray bacteria on the outside of
the teat/udder or from the teat
canal, otherwise the culture results
will be confusing or misleading.
In the case of clinical mastitis, the sample
should be taken when the problem is
detected, preferably before the cow is
milked. For subclinical mastitis, where the
cow has a high cell count but no obvious
clots from a particular quarter, the affected
quarter(s) should be identified using a
California Mastitis Test (CMT) kit and that
quarter sampled, similarly before milking.
To learn how to do a CMT you can watch
our FarmSkills video on the Farmers Weekly
You Tube channel.
Practical Guide
Welcome to our first in a series of FarmSkills
practical guides that aim to provide you with
top tips and best practice advice for a range
of on-farm animal health tasks.
Taking a
sterile milk sample
for
bacteriological culture
1.
Teat preparation
i. If the teats look clean, go straight
to stage ii. If the teats are dirty,
clean off dirt from the teats only
(not the udder) with clean running
water from the in line hose, then
dry with paper towel.
ii. Pre-dip the teats with rapid acting
pre-dip (as shown in Figure 1) then
dry wipe or use an individual
proprietary pre-dip impregnated
cloth (see Figure 2).
iii. Wearing a clean pair of gloves,
strip out foremilk from affected
teat with 3-4 draws.
iv. The whole teat surface should then
be disinfected using a surgical spirit
soaked swab/cotton wool (see
Figure 3).
v. Then, with a new spirit soaked
swab, scrub the teat end gently.
Bridget Taylor
Wright & Morten
Veterinary Surgeons
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
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