Milk Ring Test (Brucellosis Screening)
The Milk Ring Test (MRT) is a screening test that looks for Brucella antibodies in milk, shown by a coloured ring in the cream. It is used to screen cows and buffaloes, often on mixed herd milk, and positives are confirmed with other tests.
- Sample
- Fresh milk (herd or individual)
- Quantity
- As advised
- Report
- Confirmed when you book
- Collection
- Free in Bhopal
What this test checks
- Antibodies to Brucella, the bacteria that cause brucellosis, in milk
- A coloured ring in the cream layer, which suggests a positive sample
- Mixed milk from a herd or milk can, to screen many animals at once
- Milk from one animal, when your vet wants to check a single cow or buffalo
Benefits of this test
- Screens a whole herd from mixed milk, without taking blood from every animal.
- Gives an early pointer when abortions or breeding problems appear in a herd.
- Helps find herds that need follow-up blood tests for brucellosis.
- Can be repeated over time as part of a herd health plan with your vet.
- Helps your vet plan next steps for the herd and for the safety of people who handle the animals.
When your vet may advise it
- One or more cows or buffaloes in the herd have aborted, especially late in pregnancy.
- Several animals with retained afterbirth or repeat breeding problems.
- Routine herd screening of milking animals, as your vet advises.
- Before mixing newly bought milking animals with your herd.
- When a dairy, cooperative or your vet asks for a brucellosis screen of herd milk.
About this test
The Milk Ring Test (MRT) is a screening test that looks for antibodies to Brucella in milk. Brucella bacteria cause brucellosis, a disease that can make cows and buffaloes abort, usually late in pregnancy, and can lead to retained afterbirth, poor fertility and less milk. Antibodies are proteins the body makes after it meets an infection. In an infected animal, some of these antibodies pass into the milk.
A test liquid made from killed, stained Brucella is added to the milk, and the tube is left to stand. If Brucella antibodies are present, they stick to the coloured test liquid and rise with the cream, so a coloured ring forms at the top. If there are no antibodies, the cream layer stays white. The test can be done on milk from one animal or on mixed milk from a whole herd or milk can, which makes it a simple way to screen many animals at once.
The MRT is a screening test only. A positive herd or animal is followed up with blood tests, such as the Rose Bengal Plate Test or an ELISA, to find out which animals may be infected. Colostrum (the first milk after calving), milk from late in lactation, mastitis milk and recent vaccination can all give a false positive. Brucellosis can pass to people through raw milk and contact with aborted calves, afterbirth or birth fluids, so wash your hands, wear gloves when handling samples or animals that have aborted, and speak to a doctor if you feel unwell.
How to prepare
Send fresh raw milk that has not been boiled, from one animal or the herd's mixed milk, in a clean, labelled bottle kept cool, and tell the lab about any brucellosis vaccination or recent calvings. The lab confirms the method, sample needs and reporting time when you book.
Reading the result
A registered veterinarian reads the MRT with the herd's history and vaccination records. It is a screening test: a positive result must be confirmed by blood tests on individual animals, and a negative result does not always rule out infection, especially when only a few animals in a large mixed sample are infected. The result is for your information and does not replace official testing.
Questions about MRT
What is the milk ring test for brucellosis?
If the milk ring test is positive, does my cow have brucellosis?
Can the milk ring test be done on mixed herd milk?
Does brucellosis vaccination affect the milk ring test?
Before you book this test
Why this notice: so you know, before you book, how a test is done, what its limits are and who is responsible.
- Where it is tested. Some tests are done wholly or partly by an independent partner laboratory. The lab tells you before booking if this test is sent out, and the report names the laboratory that did it.
- What a result can and cannot tell you. No test is right every time. A normal result does not rule out every disease, and an abnormal result does not prove one. A registered veterinarian should read the report with the animal’s signs and history before any treatment is started, changed or stopped.
- The sample. A sample that is clotted, too small, wrongly labelled, leaking or too old may be rejected or reported with a note, and the lab may ask for a fresh one.
- Reporting time. Confirmed when you book. Times are estimates, not guarantees, and the lab confirms the time when you book.
- Emergencies. A booking or a pending report must not delay urgent care. If an animal has collapsed, struggles to breathe, has fits or bleeds heavily, call a veterinarian at once.
Please read our Terms of Service, Medical Disclaimer, Privacy Policy and Refund and Cancellation Policy. Pashupatinath Vet Lab is operated by Duaji Healthcare and Tech Private Limited. This page is general information and does not replace a veterinarian’s advice.
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MRT: Bhopal and the big cities of Madhya Pradesh
Free sample collection anywhere in Bhopal. From the other cities, send the sample by courier, bus parcel or through your local veterinarian, and the report comes to you online.
Free collection in these Bhopal areas
Read more
Brucellosis in Herds: Testing, Safety and What to Tell the Vet
Brucellosis is a herd disease that causes abortion in cows and buffaloes and can pass to people through birth fluids and raw milk. Blood antibody tests, a milk ring test and RT-PCR help a vet find it, and gloves and washing protect the people handling the animals.
18 Oct 2026