At a time when the interaction between human, environmental and animal health are gaining more traction, this game changing, dairy mastitis detection tool represents real progress in helping the agricultural sector move towards a one health goal.

RapiPath is the creation of a three-year project, funded by Innovate UK, that has aimed to find a novel method of detection to identify the specific pathogen causing mastitis in dairy cows. It’s hoped that this tool will help reduce the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through the targeted use of antibiotics.

Mastitis in dairy cows

As one of the top health and welfare issues faced by UK dairy farmers, mastitis has a significant impact on farm businesses financial and environmental sustainability.

Clinical mastitis affects milk production, fertility, cow longevity and increases the likelihood of wastage on-farm due to contaminated milk being discarded. This cycle increases the carbon footprint of milk production per kilogram of product.

The RapiPath tool currently in development, could allow early detection and identification of mastitis on-farm. By using RapiPath, it’s expected that:

• Mastitis cases can be resolved more quickly than when using conventional mastitis diagnostics
• Dairy cow health and welfare can be maintained more effectively
• On-farm milk wastage can be reduced

UK livestock industry collaboration

CIEL has worked with livestock health and welfare specialists RAFT Solutions Ltd, alongside QMMS (Quality Milk Management Services), Fera Science and OptiSense, to develop RapiPath. Returning to Dairy Day 2022, the RapiPath team will be on stand F16 showcasing the technology. We encourage farmers, vets and other interested parties to come and share their views on RapiPath.

To find out more about this project, contact RAFT Solutions Ltd [email protected] or CIEL [email protected].