A new technique for early detection of mastitis in cows has been developed by British researchers
milking machines can now have a system to detect whether a cow has developed mastitis (inflammation of udders) or not. The system can detect early signs of mastitis much before the painful inflammation develops, by monitoring the electrical conductivity of milk as it passes the milking machine.
The infected cells of the teats and udder leak sodium ions into the milk, increasing its conductivity. This increased electrical conductivity is detected by the machine. The system is being tested at the Institute for Animal Health in Compton, Berkshire, uk ( New Scientist , 29 June '96).
Data from the sensors are fed into a software, which thus gets updated on the conductivity history of each teat of each cow in a particular herd. Thus, a precise mastitis-monitoring system is ready. Till date, none of the conductivity measuring techniques were sensitive and perfect enough to be put to use. Manufacturers are also developing systems that will monitor milk very fast by using software that can make out real problems from background 'noise'.
Mastitis is caused by a bacteria that infects the udder via the teats. Inflammation is caused by the incoming white blood cells to the region for combating the bacteria. In Britain, four out of ten cows are affected by the mastitis bacteria each year, causing an estimated loss of about us $180.
Research at the Compton Institute showed that antibiotics eradicated mastitis-causing bacteria in 97 per cent of the cases where the disease was detected by the new system, compared to the usual recovery rate of around 60 per cent. The dosage also dropped by 15 to 20 per cent and the animals recuperated in record eight days instead of the usual 16 days, in case of cows that are not monitored.
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