Mastitis

Prevention and
Treatment
Jeff Bleck, DVM
Kettle Moraine Large Animal
Clinic
Plymouth, WI

Mastitis Happens!

Focus on:
A. Prevention
1.
2.
3.

Vaccinations
Environment
Milking process

B. Treatment
1. Culturing Programs
2. Appropriate Therapy

Mastitis is often the end

result of the interaction of
several factors.
CO
W

AN
M

MASTITIS
ENV
IRO

ENT

MICROORGANISMS

EM
NAG
A
M

NME
NT

Mastitis Vaccines
Effective

Immunization is Difficult

Volume of milk dilutes the # of immune

cells
Fat and casein reduce bactericidal
abilities of immune cells
Cows are exposed to numerous bacteria
Milk is an excellent substrate for growth

Vaccine Types

Staphylococcus aureus
Somato-Staph
Lysigen

E. Coli

J-5 Bacterin
J-Vac
Endo-Vac Bovi

Use gram-negative core antigens to

produce non-specific immunity directed
against endotoxic disease

Compliance?
60-80%
30-40%
80

% Protection

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1

J5 Shot #

E. Coli Vaccination Programs

Farm

Specific-Based on Bacterial
challenge

Three shot program

Quarterly
Seasonally
Monthly
Hyper-immunization

SRP Vaccine Technology

All that stands

between the
udder and
infection

Anatomy of Teat Defense

Cow Environment

CLEAN
Hygiene is a dominant factor in mastitis
control, influenced primarily by cow
comfort, ventilation and bedding
Fetrow et al (2002)

Minimize bacterial load /maximize immunity

Dry
Clean
Comfortable

Correlation Between Bedding

Contamination and the Bacteria in
Milk
Bedding
Milk
cfu/gm

cfu/ml

Pen # 1

817,000,000

960

Pen # 2

498,000,000

405

Pen # 3

270,000,000

215

Farnsworth & Reneau Unpub, 1989

"Creating Your Playbook for Success" - A course for Parlor Managers.

Bacteria Counts on Individual

Sand Samples (cfu/cc)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bedding Frequency
Critical to decreasing
bacteria numbers in stalls

Bedding sand on schedule of 3 times in 2

weeks. Grooming with cement hoe at each
shift.

Goal

Keep total bacteria counts below 2-4 million

Keep coliform bacteria counts below 1 million

(1,000,000 /cc).

Keep environmental streptococci below 1-2

million/cc.

Environmental hygiene is critical in preventing

environmental mastitis.

Keep Bedding materials as dry as possible.

What Are The Stalls Telling You??

More manure, more mastitis!

Conclusion
Controlling exposure to environmental
pathogens between milkings is
important for udder hygiene.
Bedding material must be properly
maintained to reduce exposure,
prevent udder infections and reduce
SCC.
Bedding materials must be carefully
selected.

Now its time to move into the

parlor or milking barn.
>75% of
Clinical
Mastitis occurs
during the
milking

Clean!Clean!Clean!
Milkers must wear gloves!
And Keep them Clean!
Keep Milking Units Clean
Keep cow platforms
Clean

GLOVES
I tried them and didnt see any
improvement!

What We Know

Positive relationship exists between

bacteria on teat ends and
intramammary infections (Newbold, 1970,
NMC).

Rates of clinical mastitis are related

to bacterial counts in bedding (Hogan,
et. al, J. Dairy Sci 72:250, 1989).

Exposing teat ends to >1,000,000

coliform bacteria increases the
probability of intramammary
infection (Bramley and Neave Br. Vet. J. 131:160,
1975).

Udder Prep
Research clearly shows
the BEST you can do is
reduce bacteria numbers
by 85% with a perfect
milking routine.

1,000,000 Bacteria At Start

150,000 After Cleaning

100,000 Bacteria At Start

15,000 After Cleaning

Milking procedures / machines

Flies

Weather
Other stressors

Maximize Teat End Health

>80% should score 1 or

2

Focus on Cleaning teat

ends!

Bacteria
Ends

Normal Routine
No Teat Ends

ENVIRONMENTALS
Strep Species

Coliforms

2,450
22,500

Normal Routine
Clean Teat

25
5

Best Ways to Reduce

Bacteria on Teats Compared
to No Udder Prep
Dry Towel Only

-4%

Wet Towel Only

-40%

Wet Towel + Udder Sanitizer

-40%

Wet Towel and Manual Dry

-77%

Wet Towel, Udder Sanitizer, and

Manual Dry

-80%

Predip and Manual Dry

-85%

Source: Cornell University

Adequate Drying

Most important step

in premilking hygiene
Moisture is a growth
requirement for
bacteria

Herds that dried teats

had SCC 44,000
cell/ml lower than
herds that did not
Moxley et al., 1978

Wet towels cant

adequately dry teats
Galton et al., 1984

Teat End Cleanliness

Goal >85% 1s and 2s

Remember, what is on the

teat end when the milking unit is

attached goes in the tank.

Look

at bulk tank records!

High environmental counts (coliforms

or non-ag streptococcus, and
staphylococcus species) are good
indicators better cow hygiene (premilking cow preparation) and better
bedding management is needed.

Unit Cleanliness
Keep

units off of the platform

Drop hoses should contain sanitizer with
proper concentration
Wash units between groups or as needed
Keep liner heads clean and vent holes
open
Drying liner heads when wet or dirty
Keep

platforms clean

Unit Alignment
Much

more important than people think!

Unit must be square on udder with
forward pull to get even milk outs and
minimize slips
Dont forget about teat alignment
Make sure teat is properly seeded in the liner
and not twisted
Kink

short milk tube to limit air

admission

Poor Tie Stall

Alignment

Teat Dipping
Primary Reason to Teat
Dip is to Remove the
Milk Film Left on the Teat
After Milking With a
Layer of Germicide

Teat Dip Coverage

Pre and Post Dip or Foam coverage
should be at least 75%

Culturing Programs
Need appropriate sample collection
and storage
Must have a plan to utilize information

Individual cow cultures-fresh, clinicals,

high scc cows (two different plans)
Bulk tank cultures
Bedding cultures

If you dont have a game plan dont

waste your money!

Bulk Tank Cultures

Utilize

your bulk tank cultures

because they are a source of
information on how good your
cows teats are being
cleaned.
- Bulk tank cultures definitely
show inconsistency!
- Management Tip:
- Monitor milker performance trends
using BTC by shift.

Clinical Mastitis
Grading System

Grade

mild (milk only - clots & flakes)

Grade

moderate (milk & udder swelling)

Grade

severe (milk, udder swelling &

cow-systemically sick)

Antibacterial Therapy
Response

to Treatment Influenced by:

Cows immune response

Severity of mastitis
Duration of infection
Causative pathogen
Drug used

The targeted compartment

should be considered when
choosing antibiotic treatment
Milk- environmental Streps. And
Staphs.
Blood- E.coli, Klebsiella
Mammary tissue- Staph. Aureus, some
Streps, E.coi

All IMM Drugs are Time

Dependent
Must

give at periodic regular

intervals (8, 12, 24 hours)

Extending

the duration of therapy

better than a higher dose

Failure of Therapy
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Stopping therapy to soon

Swollen udder parenchyma/blocked
milk ducts
Scar tissue/micro-abcesses
Inactivation by milk and tissue
proteins
Microbial resistance

Treatment Protocols

Grade 1

1) IMM tube for 3 days

Grade 2

1) IMM tube for 5 day

2) Anti-inflammatory drug

Grade 3

1) IMM tube for 7 days

2) Anti-inflammatory drug
3) Supportive fluid therapy
4) Systemic Antibiotic

Blanket protocols dont

always work!
Example:
1

Cow#100-mastitis LR, Grade

DIM=180, PG-90days, Milk=65lbs.

xmast=4, SCC=3 million, cultureenvironmental strep.
What treatment option would you choose?

Treatment Decisions
1. Treat as per protocol
2. Culture and use extended therapy
treatment
3. Move to hospital until no sign of clinical
mastitis.(No Treat)
4. Dry up quarter
5. Quarter milk
6. Dry off cow early(double dry treat, etc)
7. Cull cow
8. Remove teat

Clean Cows=Less Mastitis=More

Milk