Management of Mastitis in Dairy Animals

Management of Mastitis in Dairy Animals

Milk is a common source of transmission of pathogenic microorganisms to human which may cause public health hazard. The major cause of infection in milk is the result of mastitis disease, inflammation of udder, which is considered as a quite prevalent disease in cattle and buffaloes. There is severe economic loss to the farmers due to reduced milk production and also veterinary costs involvement to treat the animal.

After FMD, mastitis may be the second most important disease in dairy cattle and buffaloes in India on account of huge economic losses.

Relatively lower spends on farm hygiene, lack of effective dry-cow management therapies, fat content rather than Somatic Cell Count as a criteria for milk prices, extensive but sub-optimal usage of antibiotics and poor adherence to withdrawal periods only complicate and compound the challenge of Mastitis in India.

Economic Losses due to Mastitis

Of the few published studies quantifying losses on account of Mastitis – one of the earlier studies (Dua et. al 2001) pegs the overall burden of Mastitis in excess of USD 1 Billion (INR 60,532.10 Million; at fixed exchange rate of 1 USD = INR 60) annually.

Since the study is from 2001 – long 14 years ago – the losses’ figure would be substantially higher if we were to consider only the rate of growth in dairy farming in India. That these losses are primarily on account of clinical mastitis and with a prevalence rate1 of ~46.8% for sub-clinical mastitis, the economic losses could only be multiple folds of the reported figures.

In yet another published report – which quantified the economic losses due to sub-clinical mastitis – the loss per animal was estimated to be INR 1,390 (equivalent to USD 23 per animal at an exchange rate of 1 USD = INR 60). 49% of this loss per animal was on account of loss of value from milk production and 37% on account of veterinary medicines expenses.

Though both these studies do take into account – medication costs – but none of these have quantified the losses on account of potential milk discards to comply with withdrawal periods, as is the case in developed world.

Lack of Regulation Impeding Mastitis Control

Virtually non-existent effective monitoring at field level and no stringent regulation on mandatory discard of milk from mastitic animals ensures that:

1. Losses due to mastitis remain grossly under-reported but more importantly
2. Authorities, Vets and Dairy farmers remain “obsessed” with treating mastitis rather than preventing because there are enough buyers of the milk from affected animals / quarters

There is thus no effective deterrent in place neither a knowledge led support and early diagnostic mechanisms to ensure a move towards prevention of mastitis in dairy animals (barring large commercial dairy farms). Hence we keep on treating even chronic cases as well

Inexpensive & Poorly Regulated Antibiotics to Blame For

The low cost manufacturing model which at times is the strength of local pharmaceutical industry is partly to blame for turning the conventional wisdom over its head – “its actually cheaper in India to treat for mastitis than to prevent” as explained below:

1. Virtually inexpensive and unregulated, over the counter easy availability of antibiotics and NSAIDs only encourage rampant usage for treatment purposes (a 30 ml bottle of Meloxicam is available at less than USD 1) often directly by the dairy farmers without even the involvement, recommendation and intervention of a qualified Vet
2. Another important issue is relatively poor quality formulations of antibiotics and NSAIDs on sale in the local market which only end up in speeding the process of development of resistance
3. Yet another important aspect is the lack of full compliance with the recommended dosage and duration of usage schedules
4. Hand milking, poor spending / cost savings on farm hygiene as well as farm workers’ hygiene only add fuel to the raging fire

Movement towards Food Safety

Recent focus on food safety and consumer activism if and when extended to milk and milk products could help bring in required focus on prevention of this economically important disease.

For the records, a few companies in the past have tried introducing mastitis vaccines as well as dry cow therapies, however, in view of overwhelming infection pressures and mixed infections of varied etiology have ensured repeat failures of vaccines. Lack of awareness and higher costs associated with dry cow therapies have affected their adoption.

Etiology of mastitis

There are two forms of mastitis such as clinical mastitis and sub-clinical mastitis.

The clinical mastitis is characterized by inflammatory symptoms such as swelling and oedema of the mammary gland and high fever of the animal. There is sudden decrease in milk production and visible gross abnormalities in the milk.

On the other hand, there are no visible signs appeared either in the udder or in the milk in case of Sub-clinical mastitis, but milk production decreases and the somatic cell count (SCC) increases in the milk. Therefore, lack of diagnosis of sub-clinical mastitis is a serious challenge to the dairy industry.

A wide range of microbes including bacteria, fungi, algae and viruses, have been documented as causative agents of mastitis in bovine globally. Bacteria are the primary causes of mastitis which includes both contagious bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Mycoplasma spp. and Corynebacterium bovis and environmental bacteria such as E. coli, Klebsiella spp., Streptococcus dysgalactiae and Streptococcus uberis.

Mastitis has a serious zoonotic potential associated with shedding of bacteria and their toxins in the milk.

Factors causing mastitis

The incidence of mastitis is associated with many risk factors and therefore, mastitis is known as a multifactorial threshold trait resulting from interaction between genetic components of the host, infectious agents and environmental factors.

• The herd level risk factors arise due to differences in herd size, farm management, housing system, bedding material used, udder hygiene as well as hygiene of the barn.
• The cow specific risk factors are related to the difference in mastitis incidences among cows. Species, Breed, Milk production, parity, stage of lactation, teat lesion and previous mastitis history are well known cow factors. The season of calving also influences the mastitis incidences among bovines. Previous studies reflected about 68% sub-clinical mastitis incidences among buffaloes in Chhattisgarh.
• Lack of implementation of the routine mastitis prevention and control practices by the farmers may cause preponderance of the risk factors for the observed high prevalence of mastitis in bovines.
• Dairy farmers use antibiotics for prevention and treatment of mastitis. This results in presence of antibiotic residues in milk. These antibiotic residues then lead to developing antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria in animals. These AMR bacteria may enter into human through consumption of milk and develop public health hazards. Thus, lack of proper identification of the causative agent of mastitis has led to the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, consequently increasing development and rapid emergence of AMR strains.

Diagnosis of Mastitis in Cattle

Diagnosis of mastitis is based on the physical examination of udder and milk, and symptoms and udder examination.

1. From clinical picture
2. California mastitis test.
3. Milk sediment smear examination.

The mastitis is diagnosed based on clinical examination of udder, California mastitis test (CMT) and somatic cell count (SCC) of all quarter milk samples.

California mastitis test (CMT)

Milk samples from each quarter is placed in each of the 4 cups of the CMT paddle and physically examined with naked eyes for any abnormalities in colour and consistency. CMT reagent is added to the sample and gently stroked for 15 s. Based on the extent of gel formation, the CMT result is graded as negative (0), trace (1), weakly positive (2), distinct positive (3), and strongly positive (4).

Milk Somatic Cell Count (SCC)

Somatic Cell Count (SCC) is considered as gold standard to measure inflammation through counting somatic cells in the equipment. Milk samples displaying positive CMT reactions with SCC (> 2,00,000 cells per mL) and no observable abnormality of milk or udder is classified as a subclinical mastitis sample, whereas milk samples with SCC (≥50,00,000 cells per mL) along with visible abnormality of milk or udder is classified as clinical mastitis. Cows with no previous history of clinical mastitis in the same lactation and the milk sample with SCC less than 1,00,000 cells/ml is considered as negative or healthy sample.

Differential Tests in the Laboratory

1. Isolation and identification of the causal organisms and
2. Drug sensitivity test.

Management of Mastitis in Dairy Cattle using Herbal Combination

Preparation of herbal paste : The ingredients required for the preparation of herbal paste were 200 g Aloe vera (3 leaves), 50g turmeric powder (handful quantity) and 5g lime (size of tamarind seed). Three Aloe vera leaves had chaffed with leave blade into a 2 X 2cm small piece and grinded to became a bubble mixed greenish paste without adulteration of water. Then handful of turmeric powder along with tamarind seed size lime were added into the paste, further grinding of the ingredients to became reddish paste.

Application method

The affected udder was drained completely. It was rubbed using coir pith for cleaning of debris and other stained infectious material. The udder was washed with clean water. A handful of paste was taken into to a bowel and diluted with 100 ml of pure water. The paste now became a herbal solution. This was applied over the both affected and normal udder. Three hours later the udder was cleaned and drained as stated previously and again the solution was applied over the udder. The same procedure was repeated for 8 times per day for 5 days. The herbal paste was prepared freshly for application everyday and old paste was discarded.Mixture of Aloe vera (200g), turmeric powder (50g) and lime (5g) paste was found to be suitable to treat all type of mastitis without any adverse effects. The treated animal recovered within 5d after treatment. The conventional treatment needs ten times higher cost than herbal treatment for treating mastitis. The farmers can use this herbal treatment application as preventive strategy to treat the mastitis.

Management of Mastitis in Dairy Cattle using Herbal Combination

A complex of homeopathic medicine usually were used to treat mastitis in India comprising of Phytolacca 200c, Calcareafluorica 200c, Silicea 200c, Belladona 30c, Bryonia 30c, Arnica 30c, Conium 30c, andIpecacuanha30c in equal proportion (Chandel et al., 2009). Among these, two types of homeopathic medicine were selected for the present study to treat teat fibrosis with different concentrations (Silicea 200c and Calcarea flour 200c).

Intramammary Antimicrobial Therapy———–

For clinical cases of S. aureus mastitis, following intramammary infusions, given daily at 24- hourintervals in three treatmentsa. Procaine penicillin G (universally used) at a dose rate of 100 000 units b. For clinical cases of E. coli mastitis, milking 12 times daily proved an effective treatment. c. Penicillin-streptomycin combination (105 units – 250 mg). d. Parenteral cefquinome therapy (1 mg/kg BW intramuscularly twice at 24 h apart). e. Novobiocin (250 mg per infusion for three infusions). f. Enrofloxacin (5 mg/kg BW) in treating E. coli mastitis g. For clinical cases of coliform mastitis: Trimethoprim-sulfadiazine (trimethoprim 4g, sulfadiazine 20 g, intramuscularly every 24 h for 3-5 days). h. Oxytetracycline (16.5 mg/kg BW intravenously every 24 hours for3-5 days), combined with intramammary cephapirin (200 mg) and supportive care (intravenous or oral fluids) is more effectivein treating coliform mastitis. i. Ceftiofur is an excellent choice for intramammary infusion in coliform mastitis j. Ceftrioxone 3 g intramuscularly every 24 h for 3-5 days + phenaramine maleate 7 ml every 24 hour for 2-3 days (to overcome induration). k. Herbal product: Styplon bolus BID to prevent hemorrhage.

Management of mastitis

The mastitis can be controlled by adopting suitable management policies.

• The infected animals and chronic mastitic animals should be segregated and culled from the herd.
• Cows should be kept in a hygienic, clean and dry environment. It is to ensure proper ventilation of the area.
• The udder of the cow should be cleaned with water and then dried before as well as after cleaning.
• The milking machine should be cleaned with disinfectant solution.
• A good record on mastitis incidences and treatment procedure is to be maintained.
• Dry cow therapy is to be followed as a routine treatment to prevent mastitis. Under this process, antibiotic is given to the animals as intra mammary infusion during the milk drying off period.
• Routinely monitoring of California Mastitis Tests, milk somatic cell counts are to be carried as a stringent control measure to prevent mastitis among the bovines.

Prophylaxis:  Sound hygiene and sanitary practices are the backbone of udder health programs. Maintaining dry floor and avoiding washing of animals definitely leads to reduction in mastitis cases. The second element is use practicing pre milking cleaning and disinfection, sanitisation of milking units and covering the teats with germicides after milking. In mastitis-affected cow, separate milk of each quarter should be tested and milk of affected quarter should be disposed by deep- burying along with 5% of phenol. The calf should not be allowed to suckle milk to affected quarter.  Milkers should be advised to use of antiseptic hand wash. Utensils should be cleaned and disinfected before and after milking. Floor should be cleaned and disinfected regularly.

Conclusion

Mastitis is a devastating disease among the bovine which is a common and global problem. Major milk losses and continuous veterinary expenses cause huge economic loss and it also compromise the profitability of the dairy industry. Continuous monitoring of the occurrence of mastitis and risk factor analysis is essential to guide risk management. Thus, establishment of surveillance programmes and good management system can reduce the incidences of mastitis. Awareness programmes on mastitis management among the farmers are also essential to gain knowledge on its prevention and control.

 Compiled  & Shared by- Team, LITD (Livestock Institute of Training & Development)

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 Reference-On Request.

Management of Mastitis in Dairy Animals

Management of Mastitis in Dairy Animals

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