Mastitis can be traced back to two main sources and determining which one of these caused an outbreak can go a long way to preventing future cases.
The two main forms of mastitis are environmental and contagious mastitis.
Contagious mastitis is caused by bacteria such as Staph Aureus; Strep Uberis; and Strep. Agalactiae being transmitted between cows during milking.
To control contagious mastitis within a herd, the risk of infection spreading from cow to cow first needs to be reduced.
There are two ways that this can be achieved:
- By reducing the number of infected cows;
- By preventing spread.
Controlling contagious mastitis
Eliminating possible sources of the bacteria from the herd is the best way to control contagious mastitis.
Based on milk-recording data, cows with high cell counts should be identified and samples of their milk should be tested.
Cows that can be treated, should be, but those with more severe cases should be removed from the herd before they spread bacteria.
Contagious mastitis is spread from cow to cow, generally during the milking process.
If cell counts or mastitis are issues, clusters should also be treated or dipped between cows.
Bacteria can easily be spread from one cow to another from the cluster. It is believed that an infected cow can spread bacteria to a number of cows that are milked using the same cluster.
Because of these reasons, identifying problem cows or infected cows is so important, along with having an effective milking routine that minimises the amount of potential bacteria being spread from one cow to another.
It is also important to ensure that the milking machine is washing properly as an inadequate wash could result in bacteria remaining in the plant.