Milk Samples
- Clean teat ends with gauze swabs and 70% alcohol and collect milk sample in sterile vials. The lab must know that bacteria growing from the sample came from the quarter and not from the environment. A culture swab soaked with milk will be cultured but a California Mastitis Test (CMT) cannot be done.
- Use only sterile containers and label clearly. Containers must be tightly capped and handled carefully to prevent leakage.
- Collect milk samples before treatment. Submission of samples within 5 days of the last treatment usually produces "negative" culture results.
- Milk should be refrigerated immediately following collection and delivered to the laboratory as soon as possible. If samples cannot be hand delivered, then the consignor must assure delivery within 24 hours and they must arrive in ice packs.
- For acute clinical case(s) submit samples from each quarter and culture and sensitivities will be performed.
- Routine herd testing can be performed on a composite sample basis. Composite samples are single vials of milk from individual cows containing a composite of all 4 quarters. If quarter samples are submitted, they will be screened by the California Mastitis Test. Routinely only CMT reactive samples will be cultured and sensitivity patterns will be performed on all significant isolates.
Submission of fixed tissues for histology and blood samples for serology greatly enhance a diagnosis. Submit fetal lung, spleen or kidney, 2 ml of stomach content and a small portion of placenta containing cotyledon or placentome in the case of ruminants.