AAD’s QScout® MLD (milk leukocyte differential) test helps improve milk quality and production by guiding management and treatment decisions. It detects subclinical mastitis at the individual quarter (mammary gland) level before symptoms are visible so dairy producers can intervene at the earliest stages of mastitis, maximizing animal well-being. The test runs on AAD’s portable lab-in-a-box diagnostic platform, the QScout® Farm Lab, that provides actionable, on-farm test results within minutes per cow.
Unlike traditional mastitis diagnostic tests, the QScout MLD test provides early, precise detection of subclinical infection by identifying and differentiating white blood cells in milk, effectively characterizing the immune system’s first response to infection. The QScout Farm Lab reads the test, looking for elevated cell type ratios that indicate infection to yield an objective, accurate, quarter-level result.
In U.S. trials, QScout MLD has returned approximately $240/infected cow. Cows diagnosed early in lactation and given follow-up treatment produced 1,325 pounds more milk per cow at 305 days mature equivalent than non-treated cows, reduced somatic cell count across the lactation and had 18 percent fewer services per conception and 14 fewer days open.
AAD’s QScout MLD test can also be used as an aid to implement selective dry cow therapy, which is increasingly recognized as a best practice approach. The International Dairy Federation’s annual « Animal Health Report » released in September highlights selective dry cow therapy as the way forward. In U.S. trials, QScout MLD guided selective dry cow therapy led to a 47% reduction in antibiotic use at the cow level and a 59% reduction at the quarter level. In addition to fostering judicious use of antibiotics, early detection of mastitis with QScout MLD promotes animal welfare and improves economic returns.
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