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FERA Diagnostics and Biologicals recently launched AccuMast Plus®, an on-farm mastitis culture test building on the innovation of the original AccuMast® system. As the first and only on-farm kit capable of differentiating common pathogens, including Klebsiella, E. coli, Lactococcus, Staph. aureus, Enterococcus and Streptococcus, the AccuMast system became the gold standard for mastitis culturing. AccuMast Plus uses the same lab-grade precision and convenience, but also incorporates S. agalactiae identification.
“Streptococcus agalactiae is historically the most important pathogen-causing mastitis,” says Rodrigo Bicalho, FERA chief executive officer and founder. “For the first time, producers have a complete bacterial identification system for use on the farm. AccuMast Plus detects for the same Gram-negative bacteria, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus pathogens as our proven AccuMast system, plus it also distinguishes Streptococcus Agalactiae from other types of Streptococcus.”
Retaining the same simplistic, color-based identification as its predecessor, AccuMast Plus adds a fourth section to the single-plate culture system. This new section contains an original media that only grows S. agalactiae for research-proven diagnosis.
A 2018 study conducted at the University of Illinois found the original AccuMast to be the most accurate out of four on-farm sampling systems for diagnosing specific mastitis-causing pathogens. It was also more reliable for overall predictive factors and significantly similar to the in-lab results.
“As more farmers reduce antibiotic usage or even forego dry cow treatment, experts are seeing a slow rebirth of S. Agalactiae on some dairies,” says Bicalho. “Now we're moving on to an era where we're going to continue decreasing antibiotic usage. We need to improve diagnostics to keep an eye on these important microbes.”
Producers can order AccuMast Plus exclusively at FERA’s online store via feraah.com/accumastplus.
FERA Diagnostics and Biologicals combines innovation and science to bring practical products to the animal health field that will enhance the health, productivity and welfare of pets and production animals. The company’s products improve the lives of dairy producers and their animals with easy-to-use and accurate diagnostics. For more information, call (607) 342-3082, visit feraah.com or email marcela@feraah.com.
