Staph infection in nose: Symptoms, treatment, and diagnosis
Mastitis Detection, Prevention And Treatment
A vet in action checking up a calf in Nakuru PHOTO: BONIFACE THUKUPicture this scenario: You are a dairy farmer and have this healthy cow that is a super milk producer. The cow — whichever breed — produces so much milk you are the envy of fellow farmers in the village.
But one morning, you notice something as you are milking the cow — A significant drop in the animal's milk production.
On close examination, the animal that was normal the previous day, has an unusually warm udder or even cold udder.
As you continue milking the cow, you notice droplets of blood in the milk or some clots.
Sensing something could be terribly wrong with your dear cow, you examine it more closely and realise the udder is swollen, reddened and may be painful to touch. The animal could react to the pain with kicks or continuous movement in discomfort.
Worried, you call the vet and he diagnoses that the animal has mastitis. Today I will shed more light on mastitis, symptoms, prevention, treatment and control.
Nature of disease
Mastitis in dairy cattle is the persistent inflammatory reaction of the udder tissue. It is a potentially fatal mammary gland infection.
It is caused by infectious bacteria which is the main cause or non?Infectious agents like trauma to the udder.
The infection causes major losses as it leads to decreased milk production, premature culling of cows usually the high yielding ones, replacement as well as discarding and down?Grading of milk and sometimes death of affected animals.
The disease can affect a single animal in a farm or can at times occur as an outbreak.
High occurrence of mastitis is a major challenge to the dairy sector in Kenya and globally, a problem compounded by lack of a mastitis control programme and poor hygiene during milking.
Mastitis affects all animals with mammary glands including humans but is common in dairy cattle and goats. In both species of animals, mastitis can occur at any time during lactation but is common in early lactation.
Bacteria that cause mastitis come from the environment of the animals and that is why hygiene remains the most successful method to control the infection, which occurs through the teats.
Main sources of infection include bedding, the milkers' hands, milking towels and milking equipment.
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Prevention and control
Mastitis can either occur as a detectable infection with pronounced clinical signs known as clinical mastitis or a subtle infection known as sub clinical mastitis.
Sub-clinical mastitis is most common but clinical mastitis leads to severe reduction in milk production. Cleanliness is known to reduce mastitis cases. So how can this cleanliness be achieved?
First, milkers need to wash their hands thoroughly before and after milking each cow and use a separate clean udder cloth or a disposable tissue for cleaning each cow.
It is also important to treat a cow just before the beginning and during the dry period known as Dry Cow Therapy. It is done after the last milking of the cow before the dry period.
This makes use of antibiotics and teat sealants to kill any bacteria that could occur as reserves during the dry period and therefore cause mastitis in the next milking season.
Another important precautionary measure to take is Post?Milking Teat Dipping treatment. This is the most effective in stopping the spread of mastitis in a herd and preventing bacteria from entering the teats soon after milking when the teats sphincters are still open. Dip every quartre individually.
Culling chronic mastitis cows is recommended for cows having four or more episodes of mastitis in one lactation period. In cows with some healthy and some infected quartres, the chronically infected quartre should be cauteriaed/killed and then one will continue milking the healthy ones.
Start with clean animal
A proper order of milking cows should be executed in which the milker always starts with the clean animals/herd.
Cows with mastitis should be milked last and the same should apply to any infected quartre.
Regular laboratory testing for mastitis in the herd is also advised and this usually involves testing to know if any bacteria are in the milk.
Treatment
Mastitis is effectively treated by use of antibiotics, administered either through injection (systemic) or infused into the teat canal (intrammamary). Milk from cow under medication is not marketable due to drug residues until the recommended milk withdrawal period is completed.
Because of that potential danger, there is need for antibiotics in mastitis treatment to be handled by qualified individuals to avoid drug resistance in animals and humans who consume milk from mastitis animals undergoing treatment.
Milk from such animals should be discarded and not even fed to calves.
Before treatment, a bacterial culture and sensitivity testing should be conducted to ascertain the drugs that the bacteria in question could be most susceptible to.
Every farmer should insist on these lab tests as they reduce chances of antibiotic resistance.
The most commonly used drugs in mastitis are intemammaries.
When administering antibiotics using the intramammary method, first empty the udder of any milk and clean the tip of the teat.
When done with that, place the tip of the tube into the teat and squeeze all the antibiotic inside then massage the teat and udder to distribute the medication.
In conclusion, mastitis is a disease that affects production leading to losses for small holder or large scale farmers, this calls for continuous testing of herds before milking or at regular intervals.
- The writer is a veterinarian surgeon at the University of Nairobi
Drugs For Treatment Of Mastitis
List of drugs/medicine used for Mastitis (Mastitis)Advertisement
Are you searching for medications to treat 'Mastitis'? Welcome to this section, which serves as a repository for medications that are relevant to the treatment of Mastitis. The page includes both the generic and brand names and can be an invaluable resource for healthcare professionals and individuals who wish to get an insight on different medication options. Click on a medication below to view details including brand names, prices, dosages, side effects, and administration guidelines. Additionally, a FAQs section is available for each medication, addressing popular inquiries and providing deeper insights into its use for Mastitis management. We recommend consulting your doctor to verify the information presented on this page or for any additional clarifications.Advertisement
Brand Names and Generic Names of Drugs for Treatment of Mastitis DesaminooxytocinDesaminooxytocin is used for the treatment of postpartum hemorrhage (excessive bleeding following delivery of the baby), to induce and augment labor and promote lactation.
Search for Drugs: For Related Medical Condition Suggested Readings on Mastitis
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Winter Udder Care And Mastitis Prevention
Each winter is different across the state. Last year, the coldest part of winter was at Christmas when highs were in the negative teens while this year we are almost at 60 F. Winter has finally visited this week with freezing temperatures most nights, but thawing out during the day. One of these days that cold blast of winter will come.
BeddingThe foundation of mastitis control is milking clean dry teats and udders. While it may be assumed that pathogens don't grow as well in free stalls or bedded packs in the winter, that is not the case. While the air temperature may be lower to slow bacterial growth when a cow lies down, they warm the bedding surface within a few degrees of the cow's body temperature.
Winter conditions also have slower evaporation, often leaving stalls damper encouraging bacterial growth. Especially in a winter like this when the weather is humid and mild it is often necessary to bed and groom stalls more often. Bedded packs and compost-bedded packs often need more bedding too. Not only does damp bedding encourage bacteria growth it also sticks to cows more creating dirty udders at milking.
When organic bedding like straw, manure solids or sawdust is used as free stall bedding, adding a little gypsum or hydrated lime to the bedding can help dry stalls out or lower the pH to a point where bacterial growth is slowed. Be extra careful in the winter with hydrated lime that is mixed with the bedding as large amounts on the teats can damage the skin.
TeatsIn both conventional milking systems and automated milking systems it becomes even more important to inspect teat ends and skin for chapping in the winter. Be sure to watch fresh cows the closest due to udder edema leading to poor circulation. In cool conditions, wet teats are prone to chapping while cold conditions can create a risk for frostbite.
Wind chills create the greatest risk for frostbite. A temperature of 10 F with a 10 mph wind makes the wind chill -4 F. Anytime the wind chill temperature falls below 0 F the chances of teats being frostbitten increases. To manage wind chill be sure curtains are working properly without holes so that cows don't experience a draft when walking in the barn. If cows walk outside after exiting the barn, using bales to make a windbreak can improve teat care.
The next place to focus for teat care in the winter is on post-dip. There are many different formulations of post-dip some of which are a special winter formulation and some that an additive can be changed for varying weather conditions. Winter post-dips have higher levels of emollients in them that serve as lotions/conditioners to soften skin through the cold weather.
Skin conditioners like glycerin and lanolin are ideal as they leave less water on the skin to cause chapping or freezing. Increasing the amount of emollients in the teat dip as the temperature declines is like adding more antifreeze to your engine to protect it from freezing. Be sure to follow the instructions on these dips as they often need to be mixed each milking to keep them in proper suspension.
When cows are going to be exiting the parlor into freezing conditions in the barn or during a walk outside, make sure teats are not too wet with dip dripping off. During severe wind chill conditions where cows exit the parlor and walk outside, allow post-dip to have 30 seconds of skin contact time, then blot off excess dip to help protect the teats. Keeping dips warm not only improves cow comfort but also improves drying time.
UddersRemoving udder hair will help improve cleanliness and decrease mud, manure and bedding that may cling to the udders. If possible, avoid washing the udders in the winter. If udders are wet and dirty, dry them only, and, if extra cleaning is needed, focus only on the teats.
While udder salves can help heal chapped udders, they should be used sparingly. Using them as a preventative can increase the amount of bedding that is sticking to the udder. If teats are lightly chapped, salves may help them heal faster but most of the time that is not the case. Instead, if chapped skin is found on a few cows, increasing the amount of emollients in the teat dip will help the chapped skin heal and prevent damage on other cows.
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