Mastitis Control - Still Vital, Still No Easy Answer

Costing US dairying $1.8 billion annually (10 per cent of milk sales), mastitis remains one of the most pressing health issues in dairying and with efforts to develop treatments being extensive and numerous, there is still no easy answer.

Caused by 52 different bacteria, the mastitis issue is complex. Staphylococcus aureus, staphylococcus uberis and Escherichia coli are among the most prevalent pathogens.

Milk quality implications lead to food security issues as milk from mastitic cows is dumped. Mastitic milk is full of clots and puss, making it undesirable and the presence of mastitis antibiotics make it unfit for human consumption.

Average production losses per mammary quarter amount to around 704 litres each lactation, according to J.W. Schroeder, Dairy Specialist at North Dakota State University. Further losses come from increased time and labour, antibiotic purchases, veterinary services and decreased sales of abnormal milk.

There have been advances made in mastitis control in the United Kingdom since the 1960’s. Somatic Cell Counts (SCC), the detection of leukocyte presence that is indicative of mastitis, decreased from an average of 469,000/ml in 1980 to 191,000 in 2000.

Underpinning control improvements was a global acknowledgement of mastitis. The International Dairy Federation pressured governments into improving parlour hygiene, bedding quality, milking procedure, culling chronic cows, dry cow therapy and teat preparation.

DairyCo’s five point mastitis prevention plan stands as a good example of Ministry policy that has helped dairymen in the mastitis struggle for decades. It is a whole-farm approach designed to combat and reduce bacteria.

Recently, farming sustainability and efficiency issues have brought mastitis under increased scrutiny. Rennie Gresham, Veterinary Advisor at Hipra, told TheCattleSite how important mastitis vaccines could be for food production, cattle welfare and farm profit.

“Dairying faces the challenge of producing 50 per cent more milk by 2050 to feed a growing global population.”

“Our tools to combat mastitis are developing. We have licensed vaccinations that can reduce mastitis presence in the herd, decrease cull rate,improve animal welfare and increase milk yield, what’s not to like,” said Mr Gresham.

Vaccines such as Envirocor J5 and Startvac offer alternatives to antibiotic treatment. A vaccination is not a single solution but a great option that can form part of a five part mastitis plan incorporated with good herd management, parlour routine, teat cleanliness and farm record keeping, concluded Mr Gresham.