UUDISED

GOOD PROJECT EXAMPLE: Development of Rapid Mastitis Test MAVAS

Allikas: Notice Innovative Agriculture 2.0
17. veebruar 2022. a

The problem to be solved

Mastitis, i.e. inflammation of the mammary gland, is the most widely spread disease of dairy cows causing great economic loss worldwide due to increased treatment costs, lost milk and untimely elimination of cows from the herd.

Every year approximately 45,000 cases of mastitis are detected in Estonian dairy herds and therefore, it is the most widely spread disease of dairy cows in Estonia. Different infection-causing bacteria can enter through the teat canal and cause damage to milk-secreting tissue and to various ducts throughout the mammary gland. Therefore, it is important to detect the disease as quickly as possible.

“The MAVAS project is expected to contribute to introducing a reliable rapid test used on farms. In addition to speed, the accuracy comparable to within-laboratory precision is anticipated.” Hardi Tamm, the project manager

Project outcomes

In the course of the project, a prototype device was developed. Necessary activities were carried out, from drawing the sketches and ordering the parts for the device, to software development. The device can identify the existence of four pathogens at a time. Each farm can select the pathogens to be tested. In the future, the technical platform will enable the addition of specific pathogens to be detected if there is a need. In order to perform this function, the ability to identify specific pathogens has yet to be developed.

Prototype of the developed device.

Only 0.1 ml of milk is needed to carry out a test with the device. The working cycle of the pathogen identification ends with automatic flushing of the device and thereafter it is ready for another test. The idea is to integrate the device with the milking machine in the future. The device is almost ready for being tested on farms. In addition to technological developments and validation of methodology, the test device is being used in farm conditions for testing milk samples taken from cows with mastitis. Additionally, the test results describe inflammation in terms of the stage of intensity.

Based on the results, pathogen-specific treatment protocols are drawn up and the clinical health of cows is assessed. Pathogen-specific control of mastitis is carried out on farms participating in the project and progress of the control is assessed.

Additional information: The project is a part of the cross-border cooperation with the Finnish operational group “ÄLYREHU EIP” within the framework of the European Innovation Partnership project managed by NGO Dairy Cluster.

Support	Innovation Cluster (sub-measure 16.0 of the ERDP 2014–2020); Development of new products, practices, processes and technologies (sub-measure 16.2 of the ERDP 2014-2020)
Beneficiary	NGO Piimaklaster piimaklaster.ee/
Contact	Hardi Tamm
Project period	September 2018 – August 2022

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