Comparison of California mastitis test and Draminski mastitis detector as on-farm methods for monitoring udder health in lactating buffalo

Abstract

This study was conducted to compare the performance of the California Mastitis Test (CMT) and Draminski Mastitis Detector (DMD) for monitoring udder health in lactating buffalo. A total of 647 milk samples collected from 145 apparently healthy lactating buffalo cows during the first three months of the lactation period were used in this study. Both DMD and CMT were performed on-farm directly after sampling of the milk. The diagnostic accuracy of CMT and DMD was evaluated by estimating the area under the Receiver-Operating Characteristic curve (AUC) based on a value of 200,000 somatic cells per mL as a cut-point value for an infected quarter detected by direct microscopic somatic cell count. Data analysis showed that 63.76% of CMT results were “Trace” and 99% of DMD readings were greater than 300. The accuracy of CMT and DMD was close to each other; the AUC was 80.1% and 81.4% for CMT and DMD, respectively. The optimal cut-point value for CMT was Trace (T), and 515 for DMD. In conclusion, both CMT and DMD are practical on-farm tests for identifying infected udder in buffalo cows, and the suggested cut-point value for DMD is 515 for buffalo’s milk testing instead of the 300 that was assigned by the manufacturer for cow’s milk.