Milk Ring Test as Ready Aid to Diagnose Bovine Brucellosis in Lactating Cows of Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

In this cross sectional study 483 milk samples were collected from 483 lactating cows from selected districts of Tamil Nadu to detect antibodies against Brucella using Milk Ring Test (MRT). Overall, 4.35 per cent of milk samples were positive by MRT. The lactating cows were divided into 1st, 2nd to 4th and ≥5th lactation and the prevalence of Brucella were 2.94, 3.06 and 6.48 per cent respectively. Based on husbandry practices, the highest prevalence was recorded in unorganized farm sector (8.21%) followed by organized farm (3.84%) and single cow herds (3.63%). MRT can be used as a spot screening test. Presence of antibodies with their prevalence in organized and unorganized farms warrants a systematic preventive strategy that is used to control brucellosis.