this video will introduce you to how to properly perform and analyze a California mastitis test or CMT CMT involves taking a milk sample from each quarter of a cow mixing those samples with CMT solution and then visually reading the results to detect if an infection is present be sure to try to detect and treat mestis early if you manage or operate at Dairy Farm and suspect one of your cows may have mastitis you know it's important to be able to correctly perform the CMT to appropriately care for and treat your cow the sooner you treat the sooner your cow can be healthy and safely producing milk again as you know mastitis is an inflammation of a cow's udder caused by an infection in the mamory tissue this is infection is usually due to bacteria in the cow's uter you can detect potential cases of mastitis by looking for clinical signs clumpy looking milk fever a red or swollen udder decreased food intake dehydration and in the very worst cases death the CMT involves a few simple steps the first step is to prepare for the test itself the next part is to perform the test which involves three three steps putting milk in the paddle cups putting CMT solution in with it and then swirling it gently to mix quickly following that is the next step which involves reading the results finally you will need to interpret the results let's begin by having a CMT testing kit on hand which you can get from any farm supply store the CMT testing kit consists of a CMT paddle and a bottle of CMT solution you you should also grab a pair or two of latex gloves the CMT padal is a lightweight plastic padal with four shallow cups marked a b c and d to help identify the individual quarter from which the milk was obtained it's helpful to have the CMT solution ready before you need it so go ahead and prepare it according to the instructions on the package CMT solution is purple and comes in a concentrated form you need to use the diluted solution to obtain the test results set it aside Now put on some gloves and clean the testing area on the udder using a clean paper towel to remove dirt and manure from the tee which will help to prevent contamination after that squirt several streams of milk from each quarter to make sure you are using fresh milk from the uter next stand behind the cow and Orient the CMT pedal between the cow's rear re legs under her udder squirt three to five streams of milk from the left front tee into the left front paddle cup and then repeat that action following the same steps with the right front te into the right front cup the left rear te into the left rear cup then finally the right rear tee into the right rear cup once you have each padal cup containing one milk sample from each quarter you should then make sure each cup has approximately equal amounts of milk you can do this by tilting the petals slightly to the side and let the milk run evenly until the milk levels are even with the circles in the bottom of each cup next pour in an amount of the diluted CMT solution you prepared that's equal to the amount of milk already in each cup in the paddle once all four Cups have the milk and solution mixture in them you should gently swirl the CMT paddle in a circular motion to thoroughly mix the contents you'll be able to see the reaction almost immediately after about only 10 seconds you should read the test quickly you'll score the reaction visually and basically the more gel-like the formation is the more seriously the cow is infected the reaction generally disintegrates quickly after about only 20 seconds if the mixture remains liquid and you do not see any thickening then the cow is not infected and the test score is an in or negative if the mixture thickens slightly but then the thickening disappears the longer you rotate the paddle the cow is possibly infected and the score is a t or Trace note if one to two quarters read Trace then the cow is considered okay however if all four quarters read Trace then the cow is considered to be infected and finally if a gel forms and the surface of the mixture becomes elevated like a fried egg and the central Peak remains raised even after you stop rotating the CMT paddle your cow is infected and her score is a strong positive after reading and interpreting the test you can pour the mixture of milk and solution down the drain then rinse and clean the paddle with disinfectant you can then save and reuse it the visual scores of NT 1 2 or three that you get from your CMT will directly Cor at to what is known as average somatic cell counts SEC which you can see in this table the SEC is the measurement of white blood cells in milk that are present due to bacteria the higher the sematic cell count SEC is the more serious the mastitis infection is to review it is important to identify and control all levels of mastitis for a number of reasons cows with subclinical mastitis May not show symptoms but can still have an utter infection that causes them to produce less milk once you have determined which quarter the cow has an infection in and what level of mastitis she has you can then make a decision based on that individual animals treatment needs