A comparison between bulk tank milk samples and individual milk samples from dairy herds in Uruguay
Sammanfattning: Uruguay is situated between Argentina and Brazil in eastern South America and is the main exporting country of milk and milk products in the region. Thus, the dairy industry is of great economic importance to Uruguay. Mastitis is an inflammatory reaction of the mammary gland, which has significant health and economic implications. It is the major health problem among dairy cows in Uruguay. Sub-clinical mastitis is a condition in which there is no detectable inflammatory change in the udder and no observable abnormalities in the milk. However, it reduces milk production and adversely affects milk quality. It has been shown that sub-clinical mastitis is responsible for 70% of the losses in milk production in Uruguay. The aim of this study was to compare results obtained from bulk tank milk (BTM) analysis and individual samples taken from each udder-quarter in the herd, to evaluate whether BTM can be a useful tool in mastitis control. Seven farms in the Paysandú area were selected. On each farm, samples were collected from each quarter and analysed; partly for somatic cell count (SCC) by the California mastitis test (CMT), and partly for bacteriological analysis. Samples were also taken from the tank on five consecutive days and analysed partly for SCC by the Fossomatic method, and partly for bacteriological analysis. Considered bacteria were common mastitides such as Stafylococci, Streptococci and Coliformes. The mean value for the total number of bacteria in the bulk tank was 24,227 cfu/ml. The bacteria isolated from the individual cows were not always seen in the tank, and the bacteria found in the tank were not always found in the quarters. The conclusion is therefore that BTM should only be used as a complement to individual sampling.
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