Mastitis: A Problematic Disease for Dairy Farmers

Mastitis remains the most common and costly disease in milk production. It is not only responsible for severe financial losses to farmers but also represents a significant threat to animal welfare, resulting in discomfort, pain and premature culling.

Current treatment methods of using antibiotics are not always effective as bacteria become resistant. Consumers are also increasingly concerned about the presence of antibiotics in animal products.

The costs

Mastitis occurs in virtually all herds and at best the farmer won’t receive a premium for his milk; at worst he will have his milk rejected or be in penalty.

The additional losses incurred in culling “chronically” infected dairy cows, the costs of antibiotic treatments, of administering antibiotics themselves, of calf losses and professional fees, as well as personnel and labour costs, can often be crippling.

The facts

Mastitis is an inflammation of the udder usually caused by a bacterial infection. It causes decreased lactation leading to a loss of production, and a decrease in quality with raised somatic cell counts.

In sub-clinical form, there are no visible changes. The principal sign is a loss of milk production of typically between 10 - 25%; the cow may show no outward sign of ill health.

In clinical form, changes in milk are obvious and the cow may be seriously ill.

The two main forms of mastitis are:

Contagious mastitis
Causative bacteria (Streptococcus dysgalactiae/agalactiae and Staphylococcus aureus) are spread from the infected quarters via dirty bedding or machinery.
Environmental mastitis
(Streptococcus uberis, E-coli and Klebsiella) associated with dirty, wet bedding and often strikes around calving time.

The causes

The bedding itself can exacerbate an existing problem; damp and badly stored bedding produces very high coliform counts and Klebsiella. Straw usually has a relatively high total bacteria count, especially Streptococcus uberis. This is due to it’s origin, method of production, contamination during storage / handling and it’s high moisture content.

Higher moisture content increases the likelihood of fermentation, resulting in elevated bacteria counts even before it reaches the cattle sheds!

The other problem is storage - bedding materials are often kept on the floor of the barn, exposed to contamination.

Existing solutions

Conventional attempts to control the mastitis-causing organisms call for the spraying of cattle beds with disinfectant. While this will affect the organisms on the bedding, it doesn’t control the exisitng contamination of the stored bedding and although this treatment may well be useful in summer, problems can return in the damper weather of autumn and winter.

Materials are naturally dryer in summer, but as the temperature drops, the disinfectant fails to dry out and may irritate as contaminated bedding material is laid on top of the newly-disinfected bed.

Alternative methods include the application of lime or calcium hypochlorate; these are alkaline and can cause cracking of hooves and skin, as well as become compacted and slippery when wet.

The new solution

ANTIBACTA™ bedding additive is a dry, soft, absorbent material made from fine softwood sawdust. It is impregnated with an innovative disinfectant that is proven to control mastitis-causing bacteria, as well as antibiotic-resistant hospital bacteria.

You can view full product information for ANTIBACTA - Antibacterial bedding for dairy cattle or check out the ANTIBACTA field trial results, to see just how well this product performs.

Article uploaded 2008/03/11