Udder infections are associated with pain for dairy cows and can have a negative impact on animal welfare. Furthermore, additional labour is required for staff and the economic losses caused by an udder disease are enormous: every single udder infection costs the farm an average of over €400. The options for treating mastitis with antibiotics will be even more limited in future, as the EU is aiming to significantly reduce the use of antibiotics in livestock farming in response to the increasing occurrence of resistant pathogens. The prevention of udder diseases will therefore become even more important in the future.

In two online seminars on the topic of "Focus on udder health", Dr Andreas Steinbeck, who works as a specialist for cattle health at Boehringer Ingelheim, explained what proper dry cow management can look like and how the use of antibiotics can be successfully reduced.

The right dry cow management

The first seminar took a closer look at the dry period, which plays a key role in udder health. The pathogen strains involved, environmental factors (housing, time of year), management (use of dry period, feeding) and cow-associated parameters (age, disease history, milk quantity at the time of dry full stop or even breed-related differences in the formation of the keratin plug in the teat canal) were discussed.

Various strategies can be pursued when drying off. However, the general antibiotic drying off of all cows should be a thing of the past, as it can favour the development of resistance. Furthermore, there is no need to use antibiotics for drying off healthy animals. An alternative to this is selective drying off. It requires the udder health of each individual cow to be assessed before the start of the dry period (sounding test, laboratory examination if necessary). Quarter-selective drying off is already being used successfully on farms and in teaching and research institutions, where only infected quarters are treated with antibiotics. Precise knowledge about the health of the individual udder quarters is usually obtained by quarter milking examinations on the farm (CMT sound test) and, if necessary, confirmed by laboratory testing. If an antibiotic drying-off treatment is required, the active ingredient is selected taking into account existing resistance, which can be detected with an antibiogram.

When application of drying agentsgood hygiene is the top priority. Dr Steinbeck recommends using udder tubes with a short instillation, i.e. a tip that does not have to be inserted completely into the teat canal. This can halve the risk of infection (through the unintentional introduction of pathogens into the teat) compared to conventional tubes. The use of an internal teat sealer should be carried out at herd level for all animals. If a coloured preparation is used, it is easier to distinguish whether it is sealant residue or flakes when milking out after calving. The use of antibiotic dry off preparations should be reserved for individual animals with a conspicuous scarf test and cell counts of >100,000 in the last milk yield test before dry off.

The expert then went on to explain the importance of optimal housing conditions for dry cows. Grazing is ideal if feeding is kept in mind. A large, quiet, hygienically perfect calving pen is also important for a good start to lactation. Finally, heat stress should also be avoided with dry cows and the animals should be offered appropriate cooling from 20 °C.

Healthy through lactation - successfully reducing the use of antibiotics

Building on the first event, the second seminar focussed on udder health during lactation. Mastitis is an infectious, traumatic or toxic, often painful inflammatory reaction of the udder. It can be categorised into three different degrees:

1. altered secretions or flakes,

2. an additionally altered udder tissue and

3. an additionally disturbed general condition.

If udder inflammation occurs during lactation, the Ordinance on Veterinary Household Pharmacies (TÄHAV) stipulates that a clinical examination must be carried out by the veterinarian in advance if antibiotic treatment is required. The speaker recommended that mastitis treatment should always be individualised depending on the pathogen, the severity, the history of the disease and the stage of lactation. When it comes to an operational treatment strategy, determining the lead pathogen in the herd is crucial. This determines which pathogen is dominant in the herd and whether environmental or cow-associated germs are causing problems. The basic prerequisite for the use of antibiotics in accordance with the antibiotic guideline is that husbandry, management and hygiene are in order and good veterinary practice is observed.

The following applies to all types of mastitis: "The prognosis for cure determines the cost of treatment". Chronically recurring, incurable mastitis or cases in which no bacteria are detectable in the secretions are not treated with antibiotics. So-called rapid tests can contribute to the decision-making process here. If the prognosis for recovery is poor, the aim is to maintain the milk's ability to deliver and to carry out symptomatic treatment to prevent pain and suffering. Acute mastitis with an increase in cell count, on the other hand, must be treated quickly, persistently and consistently. The speaker always recommends the use of NSAIDs (anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers) to provide the animal with relief.

In addition to good lying surface care (clean, dry and bedding to bind moisture), Dr Steinbeck briefly reminded the audience of the following tried and tested measures in terms of milking hygiene: Clean gloves should be worn. The use of an approved pre-dip has proved its worth in practice, especially in the case of environmental pathogens. Each udder is cleaned with a fresh cloth - a different side is used for each teat. Post-dipping is recommended both from the point of view of teat care and hygiene. The cows should be given fresh feed immediately after milking so that the time until the teat canal closes again is spent standing, thus reducing the risk of environmental germs being introduced.

Good udder health depends on many factors. If goals are set realistically and pursued consistently, the udder health of the herd can be maintained or even improved. The farm vet as well as udder health services, employees of the state inspection organisations and advisors are happy to help farmers with this.

Author: Alexandra Koch, Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture