DAIRY FARMERS can now use a new technique for identifying mastitis-causing bacteria which can identify nearly twice as many pathogens and provide results in hours rather than days.

Launched in February by National Milk Laboratories – part of the NMR group – the test detects bacterial DNA. The system is so successful that it will immediately replace NML’s traditional culture techniques.

Using what’s known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the technology uses an assay that was developed in Finland and used successfully in other leading dairy countries. The system is more than 99% accurate for all bacteria identified.

The services include NML’s Mastitis ID, where producers or vets use kits to send in samples from individual cows or quarters, and its BactoBreakdown service that identifies mastitis pathogens in bulk milk samples.

Results from NML’s PCR tests will be available immediately and customers can access them through the Herd Companion web site, or by e-mail, fax or post. Results for samples arriving in the NML laboratory before 10am on a working day will be available in less than 24 hours.

“PCR offers huge advantages over plate cultures for detecting mastitis causing pathogens,” says NML’s business development manager, Hannah Pearse. “It reliably detects 11 pathogens and the susceptibility of staphylococci to penicillin, compared with six pathogens and no penicillin susceptibility in NML’s traditional culture. The PCR test takes just hours to complete, compared to 48 to 72 hours for a culture.”