Measuring Somatic Cell Count to Detect Infections in Dairy Goats
Author Information
Author(s): Ylva Persson, Ida Olofsson
Primary Institution: National Veterinary Institute/Swedish Dairy Association
Hypothesis
Can somatic cell count measured by CMT and DCC serve as reliable indicators of intramammary infection in dairy goats without clinical symptoms?
Conclusion
Somatic cell count measured by CMT or DCC can predict udder infection in goats.
Supporting Evidence
- Intramammary infection was found in 18% of the milk samples.
- Somatic cell count measured by DCC was strongly associated with bacterial growth.
- CMT scores correlated well with SCC measured by DCC.
Takeaway
This study shows that checking the number of cells in goat milk can help farmers find infections in their goats, even if the goats look healthy.
Methodology
Milk samples were collected from 111 clinically healthy dairy goats and analyzed for somatic cell count using CMT and DCC, along with bacteriological analysis.
Potential Biases
Potential for bias due to the study being conducted on a limited number of farms and only once.
Limitations
Sampling was done only once, which may lead to false negatives; repeated sampling could provide more accurate results.
Participant Demographics
Dairy goats, mainly of the Swedish landrace breed, from five different farms in Northern and Central Sweden.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.000
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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