Milk Culture – Mastitis
| Description | Identification of bacterial pathogens responsible for causing mastitis by culture. |
| Department | Microbiology |
| Fee | $28 |
| Days Tested | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
| Turnaround Time | 3-6 days |
| Species | Bovine, Canine, Feline, Equine, Ovine, Caprine, Porcine, Wildlife Exotic, Other |
| Specimen | Milk, frozen (5-20 ml); if thaWed, we will reject samples received > 3 days from collection date. |
| Sampling Requirements | Collection method: Clean teats from front to back, collect milk specimen from back to front. Aseptically squirt 5-20 ml of milk into sterile container. For bulk tank samples see milk culture – bulk tank. |
| Collection Container | Sealed, leak proof, plastic container |
| Packaging Instructions | Label all samples. Ship samples on cold packs or freeze immediately. Transport to the laboratory within 24 hours of collection. |
| Additional Information |
The VDL does not determine the safety of milk for human consumption. Samples submitted for this purpose will be rejected. Isolation and identification of bacteria present in milk to determine the causative agent of mastitis. Routine milk culture does not include Mycoplasma sp. If Mycoplasma is suspected please also request Mycoplasma culture. We no longer routinely perform antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) for mastitis. If desired, we can determine whether the isolate is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) for the routine AST fee. Check out our Microbiology page for helpful collection and interpretation information. Additionally, this video gives a deMonstration of milk collection. |