Mycoplasma Mastitis Test Method

Mastitis is an inflammation of a cow's breast, or udder. A number of different bacterial strains can cause mastitis. Mycoplasma strains, however, aren't easily treatable and may result in the need to cull a large portion of your herd. Although not harmful to humans, mycoplasma bovis can cause damaging mastitis in cattle. Properly testing for mycoplasma-related mastitis is an important first step in protecting the health of your herd.

  1. Sampling Procedures

    • Have a veterinarian perform a bulk tank sample of cow milk in a specific herd to test for mycoplasma mastitis. Instances of mastitis in a herd can be detected in milk from 300 to 400 cows. Keep the testing limited to a specific herd that feeds together, as this will help you narrow the field of possible infection. Individual cow samples and sequential sampling are other options, but mastitis can be detected in a larger bulk sample. This will cut down on testing costs.

      Sample your cattle herds monthly for mastitis. If your herd is at an increased risk of contacting mycoplasma mastitis, which may be indicated by your local agricultural board, perform bulk tank samples weekly.

    Identifying Infected Cattle

    • Check cattle in your herd for symptoms of mastitis if the bulk tank sample comes up positive. The most visible symptom of mastitis is an inflammation of the udder. Take note of your cow's milk production. Cows affected by mastitis will produce less milk. Milk produced by cows with a mastitis will also be watery in color or may contain clotting. Provide any affected cattle with an antimicrobial mastitis treatment, which can be obtained from a livestock supply store.

      Note whether your cow is resistant to mastitis medications, which may indicate a mycoplasma infection. Mastitis can be caused by a number of different infections, including staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus agalactia. These other forms of mastitis can be treated with medication, whereas mycoplasma mastitis has no known antibiotic cure.

    Bacteriologic Culture

    • Bring composite milk samples from infected cattle to a mastitis laboratory to have a bacteriologic culture performed on the sample. A bacteriologic culture can help identify if the mastitis is a mycoplasmic form. Contact your local agricultural board to learn more about local mastitis laboratories. Not every mastitis laboratory performs bacteriologic culture for mycoplasma mastitis, so ask before you bring your sample. Milk samples will be plated and placed in a special incubator, where they will stay for seven days. After this time, laboratory personnel will be able to determine whether or not the mastitis infection is of a mycoplasmic variety.

    Polymerase Chain Reaction

    • Use polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, testing to determine instances of mycoplasma mastitis in individual cows. PCR testing requires advanced technology and machinery, so contact your local agricultural board to find out where PCR testing equipment can be accessed. PCR testing involves heating and cooling a DNA sample from a cow suspected of being infected with mycoplasma mastitis to search for a genetic predisposition towards contracting mastitis, as well as any genetic resistance to penicillin. PCR testing is faster and more accurate than older methods of mastitis detection, such as the bacteriologic culture.