A cost-benefit model comparing the California Milk Cell Test and Milk Electrical ResistanceTest
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Date
Authors
Petzer, Inge-Marie
Karzis, Joanne
Meyer, Isabel A.
Van der Schans, Theodorus J.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Open Journals
Abstract
The indirect effects of mastitis treatment are often overlooked in cost-benefit analyses, but it
may be beneficial for the dairy industry to consider them. The cost of mastitis treatment may
increase when the duration of intra-mammary infections are prolonged due to misdiagnosis
of host-adapted mastitis. Laboratory diagnosis of mastitis can be costly and time consuming,
therefore cow-side tests such as the California Milk Cell Test (CMCT) and Milk Electrical
Resistance (MER) need to be utilised to their full potential. The aim of this study was to
determine the relative benefit of using these two tests separately and in parallel. This was
done using a partial-budget analysis and a cost-benefit model to estimate the benefits and
costs of each respective test and the parallel combination thereof. Quarter milk samples
(n = 1860) were taken from eight different dairy herds in South Africa. Milk samples were
evaluated by means of the CMCT, hand-held MER meter and cyto-microbiological laboratory
analysis. After determining the most appropriate cut-off points for the two cow-side tests,
the sensitivity and specificity of the CMCT (Se = 1.00, Sp = 0.66), MER (Se = 0.92, Sp = 0.62)
and the tests done in parallel (Se = 1.00, Sp = 0.87) were calculated. The input data that were
used for partial-budget analysis and in the cost-benefit model were based on South African
figures at the time of the study, and on literature. The total estimated financial benefit of
correct diagnosis of host-adapted mastitis per cow for the CMCT, MER and the tests done in
parallel was R898.73, R518.70 and R1064.67 respectively. This involved taking the expected
benefit of a correct test result per cow, the expected cost of an error per cow and the cost of the
test into account. The CMCT was shown to be 11% more beneficial than the MER test, whilst
using the tests in parallel was shown to be the most beneficial method for evaluating the
mastitis-control programme. Therefore, it is recommended that the combined tests should be
used strategically in practice to monitor udder health and promote a pro-active udder health
approach when dealing with host-adapted pathogens.
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J.K. drafted the manuscript and critically revised it, formatted and edited the manuscript, was involved in the data analysis, calculating the sensitivity and specificity, as well as assisting in calculating the cost-benefit model and determining the model inputs for the partial-budget analysis. I.M.P. assisted in collection of aseptic milk samples and performing of cowside tests, assisted with model inputs, reviewing the technical aspects of the manuscript. I.A.M. was involved in calculating the cost-benefit model, doing all the excel calculations, calculating the model inputs and technical editing of the article. T.J.v.d.S. was mainly involved in collecting of aseptic samples and performing of all the cow-side tests in the dairy, as well as in editing the manuscript.
J.K. drafted the manuscript and critically revised it, formatted and edited the manuscript, was involved in the data analysis, calculating the sensitivity and specificity, as well as assisting in calculating the cost-benefit model and determining the model inputs for the partial-budget analysis. I.M.P. assisted in collection of aseptic milk samples and performing of cowside tests, assisted with model inputs, reviewing the technical aspects of the manuscript. I.A.M. was involved in calculating the cost-benefit model, doing all the excel calculations, calculating the model inputs and technical editing of the article. T.J.v.d.S. was mainly involved in collecting of aseptic samples and performing of all the cow-side tests in the dairy, as well as in editing the manuscript.
Keywords
Milk, Dairy industry, California Milk Cell Test (CMCT), Milk Electrical Resistance (MER)
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Petzer, I.M., Karzis, J., Meyer, I.A. & Van der Schans, T.J., 2013, ‘A cost-benefit model comparing the California Milk Cell Test and Milk Electrical Resistance Test’, Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research 80(1), Art. #538, 6 pages. http://dx.DOI.org/ 10.4102/ojvr.v80i1.538