Validation of commercial luminometry swabs for enumeration of total bacteria and coliform counts in colostrum feeding equipment

摘要

Colostrum feeding is an integral component of neonatal calf care with many effects on calf health and productivity, yet failure of passive transfer remains common on many dairy farms. A sufficient quantity and quality colostrum must be fed quickly tothe newborn calf while minimizing bacterial contamination. Colostrum with a total bacteria count (TBC) >100,000 cfu/ml may impair IgG absorption and contribute to disease. Adenosine triphosphate ATP bioluminescence swabs offer a potential rapid calf-sidealternative to traditional bacterial culture. The reagents in the swabs produce a light-generating reaction when in contact with bacterial adenosine triphosphate, which is quantified in relative light units (RLU) with a luminometer. The objective of this study was to validate the HygienaTM AquaSnap (AS), SuperSnap(SS), PRO-Clean (PC) and MicroSnap (MS) swabs as well as visual hygiene assessment for detection of elevated bacterial counts in or on colostrum-feeding equipment.