Abstract
Background: The California mastitis test (CMT) is a simple cow-side indicator of the somatic cell count (SCC) in milk, providing a useful tool in identifying cases of subclinical mastitis in cattle. Mastitis, and in particular subclinical mastitis, is a major concern in Ethiopia and Nigeria, yet detection is challenging due to cost and access to commercial CMT reagents. Methods: Commercially available domestic detergents from Ethiopia and Nigeria were compared (n = 3 for each country) with the UK commercial CMT reagent in their ability to detect high SCC (>400,000 cells/ml milk). Sensitivity and specificity of the CMT test were calculated for the different detergents and positive and negative predictive values were established. Results: The average sensitivities of the tests ranged from 28-75% for the Ethiopian detergents and 68-80% for the Nigerian detergents, compared to 76% for the UK domestic detergent. Test specificities were 84-98%, 93-97% and 96%, respectively. Conclusions: Overall, the detergents demonstrated higher specificity than sensitivity. Nigerian detergents performed better than the Ethiopian products, however, the study identified suitable domestic detergents from both Ethiopia and Nigeria, comparable to the UK commercial CMT reagent, and we recommend their use as alternative CMT reagents for livestock-keepers to aid in cost-effective diagnosis of mastitis.
Highlights
Mastitis is regarded globally as the most common infectious disease in dairy cattle, as well as the most economically important (Halasa et al, 2007; Makolo et al, 2019; Shittu et al, 2012; Suleiman et al, 2013)
As a domestic detergent-based California mastitis test (CMT) reagent is accepted in the UK as a cost-effective alternative (Leach et al, 2008), this project aims to investigate whether domestic detergents available in Ethiopia and Nigeria can be utilised in the CMT, in place of the UK commercial CMT reagent, to achieve comparable results
Reagents 1–3 (Figure 1), made with commercially available Ethiopian detergents, achieved 100% agreement with UK CMT results at varying dilutions: 70 ml detergent per 200 ml solution for Reagent 1; 60 ml per 200 ml for Reagent 2; and both 50 ml and 60 ml per 200 ml, in which this study takes an average of 55 ml per 200 ml, for Reagent 3
Summary
Mastitis is regarded globally as the most common infectious disease in dairy cattle, as well as the most economically important (Halasa et al, 2007; Makolo et al, 2019; Shittu et al, 2012; Suleiman et al, 2013). Due to the infectious nature of mastitis-causing pathogens, it is important for the livestock keeper to detect cases of subclinical mastitis in order to maximize cow health and well-being, as well as maintaining herd health ( Kandeel et al, 2018). The California mastitis test (CMT) is a simple cow-side indicator of the somatic cell count (SCC) in milk, providing a useful tool in identifying cases of subclinical mastitis in cattle. Methods: Commercially available domestic detergents from Ethiopia and Nigeria were compared (n = 3 for each country) with the UK commercial CMT reagent in their ability to detect high SCC (>400,000 cells/ml milk). Nigerian detergents performed better than the Ethiopian products, the study identified suitable domestic detergents from both Ethiopia and Nigeria, comparable to the UK commercial CMT reagent, and we recommend their use as alternative CMT reagents for livestock-keepers to aid in cost-effective diagnosis of mastitis
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