CORRELATION OF FOUR MASTITIS DETECTION TESTS WITH RESPECT TO THE LEUCOCYTE COUNT

Abstract

A descending order of correlation with respect to the Microscopic Leucocyte Count was obtained as follows: Feulgen-DNA > California Mastitis Test > Modified Whiteside Mastitis Test > Strip Tray Test. The average overall sample per cow and the composite sample correlations were statistically significant at the 1% level of significance, but many individual composite relationships were not significant. The bulk tank correlations, which represent the entire herd, were not significant. Results indicate that intermixing of raw milk from different sources lowered the concentration of reactive nuclear material to such a level that it was not measurable by the mastitis screening tests employed in these trials.