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Usefulness of differential somatic cell count for udder health monitoring: Diagnostic performance of somatic cell count and differential somatic cell count for diagnosing intramammary infections in dairy herds with automated milking systems

Fonseca M, Kurban D, Roy JP, Santschi DE, Molgat E, Dufour S

Journal of dairy science, 2025

Abstract

Mastitis poses significant economic challenges for dairy farms. Therefore, enhancing the accuracy of diagnostic methods for detecting IMI can potentially improve prevention, control, and treatment strategies. The SCC is a well-established parameter for identifying inflammation resulting from IMI. Given the recent introduction of differential somatic cell count (DSCC) for routine milk sample screening, limited research has been conducted to assess its additional benefits for diagnosing IMI. Therefore, our main objective was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of SCC, DSCC, and SCC-DSCC combinations in detecting IMI caused by any pathogen or by major pathogens using quarter milk samples. Five dairy herds using automated milking systems were selected using convenience sampling in Québec, Canada. Determination of SCC and DSCC was performed by Lactanet (Ste-Anne de Bellevue, QC, Canada) using a CombiFoss 7 DC instrument. A 5-populations 2-tests Bayesian latent class models was used, with bacteriological culture employed as the imperfect reference test. Posterior estimates for sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), and the predictive values for 2 hypotheticals IMI prevalences due to any pathogen or major pathogens were computed. The proportion of quarters positive for any pathogen or major pathogen using milk culture was 31.7% (5,125/16,176) and 5.4% (871/16,176), respectively. For the detection of IMI by any pathogen, using a serial interpretation for the combination of SCC ≥100,000…

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