Mastitis Prevention and Treatment Jeff Bleck, DVM Kettle Moraine Large Animal Clinic Plymouth, WI 1

Mastitis Happens! Focus on: A. Prevention Treatment 1. Vaccinations 2. Environment 3. Milking process Treatment 1. Culturing Programs 2. Appropriate Therapy 2

Mastitis is often the end result of the interaction of several factors. MAN MASTITIS MANAGEMENT MICRO- ORGANISMS COW ENVIRONMENT 3

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 E. Coli Staphylococcus aureus Somato-Staph Lysigen 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%

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… 9

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) Usually we start in the parlor and finish with the environment. In reality we need to focus on the environment first. 11

Minimize bacterial load /maximize immunity Dry Clean Comfortable 12

Correlation Between Bedding Contamination and the Bacteria in Milk cfu/gm Milk cfu/ml Pen # 1 817,000,000 960 Pen # 2 498,000,000 405 Pen # 3 270,000,000 215 Farnsworth & Reneau Unpub, 1989 13 13

"Creating Your Playbook for Success" - A course for Parlor Managers. 14 14

Bacteria Counts on Individual Sand Samples (cfu/cc) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 15

Critical to decreasing bacteria numbers in stalls Bedding Frequency Critical to decreasing bacteria numbers in stalls 16

Bedding sand on schedule of 3 times in 2 weeks 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. 18 18

What Are The Stalls Telling You?? More manure, more mastitis!

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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. 22 22

Now its time to move into the parlor or milking barn. >75% of Clinical Mastitis occurs during the milking process 23

Slip/squawk What teat has backjetting? 24

Clean!Clean!Clean! Milkers must wear gloves! And Keep them Clean! Keep Milking Units Clean Keep cow platforms Clean 25

GLOVES I tried them and didn’t see any improvement! 26

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 100,000 Bacteria At Start 150,000 After Cleaning 15,000 After Cleaning 29

Maximize Teat End Health Milking procedures / machines Flies Weather Other stressors Maximize Teat End Health 30

>80% should score 1 or 2

Focus on Cleaning teat ends! Bacteria Normal Routine Normal Routine No Teat Ends Clean Teat Ends ENVIRONMENTALS Strep Species 2,450 25 Coliforms 22,500 5 32

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 can’t adequately dry teats Galton et al., 1984

Teat End Cleanliness Goal >85% 1’s and 2’s 35

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 (pre-milking 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 Washing units may not be priority takes time make sure to due what meets goals and not whats convenient 37

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 Don’t forget about teat alignment Make sure teat is properly seeded in the liner and not twisted Kink short milk tube to limit air admission 38

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% 41

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 don’t have a “game plan” don’t waste your money! 42

Bulk Tank Cultures Utilize your bulk tank cultures because they are a source of information on how good your cow’s teats are being cleaned. Bulk tank cultures definitely show inconsistency! Management Tip: Monitor milker performance trends using BTC by shift. 43

Clinical Mastitis Grading System Grade 1 mild (milk only - clots & flakes) Grade 2 moderate (milk & udder swelling) Grade 3 severe (milk, udder swelling & cow-systemically sick) Know what to due when they find mastitis. Clinicals will go up if you have excellent detection. Bucket cow, quarter milk, sort cow 44

Objectives of Mastitis Therapy 1. Return to Saleable Milk ASAP Establish Clinical Cure Avoid Drug Residue 2. Reduce Somatic Cell Count 3. Limit Udder Damage Minimize long-term milk loss 4. Achieve bacteriological cure Prevents spread of mastitis Prevents relapses 45

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 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 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 don’t always work! Example: Cow#100-mastitis LR, Grade 1 DIM=180, PG-90days, Milk=65lbs. xmast=4, SCC=3 million, culture- environmental strep. What treatment option would you choose? 51

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 Communicate between herd manager and parlor manager to see what will work 52

Clean Cows=Less Mastitis=More Milk 53 53