Download Time to consider a mastitis review?

Time to consider a mastitis review?
As we enter winter ‘proper’ with the majority of milking cows housed, it is worth spending
a few minutes considering mastitis expectations for the coming period, and casting your
mind back to last winter.
Autumn and winter see a traditional cell count rise and the environmental bacteria – E.
coli and Strep. uberis (in some cases) – love nothing better than wet and warm winter
housing. Reviewing records from last winter will show incidence levels and, if any
testing was undertaken, the bacteria involved. Certainly, knowing what you are up
against makes it easier to plan how to best avoid it, however work from the USA
suggests that some bacteria are behaving in a more complicated way than before. A
mastitis therapy review could be a good idea for many units, especially if you are
noticing more hard-to-treat cases.
A recent milk testing scheme organised by Intervet involved sampling cows with both
clinical and subclinical cases of mastitis, and sending these samples off to be tested.
Now, with over 150 tests run, an interesting picture is emerging.
The main culprits for subclinical, high cell count cases were the notoriously hard-to-treat
bacteria – Strep. uberis and Staph. aureus. Meanwhile, E. coli and Strep. uberis were
the most common in clinical cases of mastitis.
Strep. uberis is well known for causing recurring infections and also for acting as a
contagious bacteria – spread from cow to cow – as well as an environmental one –
spread though the environment. It is very difficult to cure effectively and highlights the
need for effective treatment with a broad spectrum antibiotic.
Both Strep.Uberis - caused mastitis and E. coli are capable of causing a recurrent
infection or sudden toxic mastitis. Evidence around the country suggests that an
increasingly popular treatment for the latter is Cephaguard® LC used in combination with
Cephaguard® 2.5% injectable for improved efficacy. Used together, the tube and
injection work in synergy to deliver proven bacterial cure rates. Unlike other combination
treatments, only two 25ml doses of Cephaguard injection are needed. The treatment
comprises 2 x 25ml injections of Cephaguard 2.5% 24 hours apart, at the same time as
giving 3 Cephaguard LC tubes. The milk withhold period is the same as when tubes
alone are used (84 hours).
Contact the practice if you would like to review your mastitis protocol.