Point-of-care tests for bovine clinical mastitis: what do we have and what do we need?

Malcata, F. B., Pepler, P. T. , O'Reilly, E. L., Brady, N., Eckersall, P. D. , Zadoks, R. N. and Viora, L. (2020) Point-of-care tests for bovine clinical mastitis: what do we have and what do we need? Journal of Dairy Research, 87(S1), pp. 60-66. (doi: 10.1017/S002202992000062X) (PMID:33213589)

Abstract

Mastitis, inflammation of the bovine mammary gland, is generally caused by intramammary infection with bacteria, and antimicrobials have long been a corner stone of mastitis control. As societal concern about antimicrobial use in animal agriculture grows, there is pressure to reduce antimicrobial use in dairy farming. Point-of-care tests for on-farm use are increasingly available as tools to support this. In this Research Reflection, we consider available culture-dependent and culture-independent tests in the context of ASSURED criteria for low-resource settings, including convenience criteria, scientific criteria and societal criteria that can be used to evaluate test performance. As tests become more sophisticated and sensitive, we may be generating more data than we need. Special attention is given to the relationship between test outcomes and treatment decisions, including issues of diagnostic refinement, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and detection of viable organisms. In addition, we explore the role of technology, big data and people in improved performance and uptake of point-of-care tests, recognising that societal barriers may limit uptake of available or future tests. Finally, we propose that the 3Rs of reduction, refinement and replacement, which have been used in an animal welfare context for many years, could be applied to antimicrobial use for mastitis control on dairy farms.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Special Issue S1: DairyCare: Husbandry for wellbeing.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Eckersall, Professor David and Pepler, Dr Theo and Zadoks, Professor Ruth and Viora, Dr Lorenzo and Brady, Mrs Nicola and O'Reilly, Dr Emily
• Authors: Malcata, F. B., Pepler, P. T., O'Reilly, E. L., Brady, N., Eckersall, P. D., Zadoks, R. N., and Viora, L.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Journal of Dairy Research
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• ISSN: 0022-0299
• ISSN (Online): 1469-7629
• Published Online: 30 July 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of Dairy Research 87:60-66
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
302620		Rapid, accurate, on-farm diagnosis and monitoring of mastitis in dairy cows	Peter Eckersall	Innovate UK (INNOVATE)	104295/6627	Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine