Hostname: page-component-7dd5485656-g8tfn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-31T22:04:52.495Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Milk yield and somatic cell count during the following lactation after selective treatment of cows at dry-off

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2011

Päivi J Rajala-Schultz ,
Audrey H Torres  and
Fred J DeGraves
Päivi J Rajala-Schultz*
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University
Audrey H Torres
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University
Fred J DeGraves
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University
*
*For correspondence; paivi.rajala-schultz@cvm.osu.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Selective dry cow therapy (SDCT) has received increasing attention in recent years owing to global concerns over agricultural use of antimicrobial drugs and development of antimicrobial resistance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of SDCT on milk yield and somatic cell count (SCC) in dairy herds in the USA. Cows in four Ohio dairy herds were categorized into two groups (low-SCC and high-SCC) at dry-off based on their SCC and clinical mastitis (CM) history during the lactation preceding the dry-off. Low-SCC cows were randomly assigned to receive or not to receive intramammary antibiotics at dry-off. Milk yield and SCC of these cows during the following lactation were compared using linear mixed effects models, adjusting for parity, calving season, stage of lactation, previous lactation milk yield and herd. Milk yield of untreated and treated low-SCC cows at dry-off did not differ significantly during the following lactation. Overall, treated low-SCC cows had 16% lower SCC (approximately 35 000 cells/ml, P=0·0267) than the untreated cows during the following lactation; however, the effect was variable in different herds. Moreover the impact of treatment, or the lack thereof, on milk yield varied considerably between herds. The results suggested that in some herds treating all cows at dry-off may be beneficial while in other herds leaving healthy cows without antibiotic dry cow treatment has no negative impact on milk yield or milk quality (SCC), and in fact, may be beneficial. Further studies are needed to identify characteristics of herds where treating all cows routinely at dry-off may be needed for maintaining good udder health and where switching to selective treatment of cows at dry-off would be the optimal approach to achieve best results.

Keywords

Selective dry cow therapymilk yieldsomatic cell count

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Dairy Research , Volume 78 , Issue 4 , November 2011 , pp. 489 - 499
Copyright
Copyright © Proprietors of Journal of Dairy Research 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Angulo, F.J., Nargund, VN & Chiller, TC 2004 Evidence of an assocition between use of antimicrobial agents in food animals and antimicrobial resistance among bacteria isolated from humans and the human health consequences of such resistance. Journal of Veterinary Medicine B 51 374–379Google Scholar
Anon 2001 Public health action plan to combat antibiotic resistance, Interagency Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available online: http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/actionplan/aractionplan.pdfGoogle Scholar
Bar, D, Grohn, YT, Bennett, G, Gonzalez, RN, Hertl, JA, Schulte, HF, Tauer, LW, Welcome, FL & Schukken, YH 2007 Effect of repeated episodes of generic clinical mastitis on milk yield in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 90 4643–4653CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berry, SL, Maas, J, Kirk, JH, Reynolds, JP, Gardner, IA & Ahmadi, A 1997 Effects of antimicrobial treatment at the end of the lactation on milk yield, somatic cell count, and incidence of clinical mastitis during the subsequent lactation in a dairy herd with a low prevalence of contagious mastitis. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 211 207–211CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradley, AJ, Breen, JE, Payne, B, Williams, P & Green, MJ 2010 The use of cephalonium containing dry cow therapy and an internal teat sealant, both alone and in combination. Journal of Dairy Science 93 1566–1577Google Scholar
Bradley, AJ & Green, MJ 2000 A study of the incidence and significance of intramammary enterobacterial infections acquired during the dry period. Journal of Dairy Science 84 1957–1965CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradley, AJ & Green, MJ 2001a Aetiology of clinical mastitis in six Somerset dairy herds. Veterinary Record 148 683–686Google Scholar
Bradley, AJ & Green, MJ 2001b An investigation of the impact of intramammary antibiotic dry cow therapy on clinical coliform mastitis. Journal of Dairy Science 84 1632–1639CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradley, AJ & Green, MJ 2004 The importance of the non-lactating period in the epidemiology of intramammary infection and strategies for prevention. Veterinary Clinics Food Animals 20 547–568CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Browning, JW, Mein, GA, Barton, M, Nicholls, TJ & Brightling, P 1990 Effects of antibiotic therapy at drying off on mastitis in the dry period and early lactation. Australian Veterinary Journal 67 440–442Google Scholar
Browning, JW, Mein, GA, Brightling, P, Nicholls, TJ & Barton, M 1994 Strategies for mastitis control: dry cow therapy and culling. Australian Veterinary Journal 71 179–181CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bywater, RJ 2004 Veterinary use of antimicrobials and emergence of resistance in zoonotic and sentinelbacteria in the EU. Journal of Veterinary Medicine B 51 361–363Google Scholar
Dingwell, RT, Kelton, DF & Leslie, KE 2003 Management of the dry cow in control of peripartum disease and mastitis. Veterinary Clinics Food Animals 19 235–265CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dohoo, IR & Leslie, KE 1991 Evaluation of changes in somatic cell counts as indicators of new intramammary infections. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 10 225–237CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dohoo, IR, Martin, W & Stryhn, H 2003 Veterinary Epidemiologic Research. Charlottetown, University of Prince Edward IslandGoogle Scholar
Eberhart, RJ 1986 Management of dry cows to reduce mastitis. Journal of Dairy Science 69 1772–1732Google Scholar
Eberhart, RJ & Buckalew, JM 1972 Evaluation of a hygiene and dry period therapy program for mastitis control. Journal of Dairy Science 55 1683–1691Google Scholar
Ekman, T & Østerås, O 2003 Mastitis control and dry cow therapy in the Nordic countries. 42nd Annual Meeting of National Mastitis Council, Fort Worth, Texas, USA. National Mastitis CouncilGoogle Scholar
Gill, R, W.H.H, , Leslie, KE & Lissemore, K 1990 Economics of mastitis control. Journal of Dairy Science 73 3340–3348CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Green, MJ, Green, LE, Medley, GF, Schukken, YH & Bradley, AJ 2002 Influence of dry period bacterial intramammary infection on clinical mastitis in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 85 2589–2599CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grohn, YT, Wilson, DJ, Gonzalez, RN, Hertl, JA, Schulte, H, Bennett, G & Schukken, YH 2004 Effect of pathogen-specific clinical mastitis on milk yield in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 87 3358–3374CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hagnestam, C, Emanuelson, U & Berglund, B 2007 Yield losses associated with clinical mastitis occurring in different weeks of lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 90 2260–2270Google Scholar
Halasa, T, Nielen, M, De Roos, APW, Van Hoorne, R, de Jong, G, Lam, TJGM, van Werven, T & Hogeveen, H 2009a Production loss due to new subclinical mastitis in Dutch dairy cows estimated with a test-day model. Journal of Dairy Science 92 599–606CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halasa, T, Osteras, O, Hogeveen, H, van Werven, T & Nielen, M 2009b Meta-analysis of dry cow management for dairy cattle. Part 1. Protection against new intramammary infections. Journal of Dairy Science 92 3134–3149Google Scholar
Hassan, Z, Daniel, RC, O'Boyle, D & Frost, AJ 1999 Effects of dry cow intramammary therapy on quarter infections in the dry period. Veterinary Record 145 635–639Google Scholar
Hillerton, JE, Bramley, AJ, Staker, RT & McKinnon, CH 1995 Patterns of intramammary infection and clincial mastitis over a 5-year period in a closely monitored herd applying mastitis control measures. Journal of Dairy Research 62 39–50CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hortet, P & Seegers, H 1998 Calculated milk production losses associated with elevated somatic cell counts in dairy cows: review and critical discussion. Veterinary Research 29 497–510Google Scholar
Huijps, K & Hogeveen, H 2007 Stochastic modeling to determine the economic effects of blanket, selective, and no dry cow therapy. Journal of Dairy Science 90 1225–1234Google Scholar
Littell, RC, Milliken, GA, Stroup, WW & Wolfinger, RD 1996 SAS system for mixed models. Cary NC, USA: SAS Institute Inc.Google Scholar
Macciotta, NPP, Vicario, D & Cappio-Borlino, A 2005 Detection of different shapes of lactation curve for milk yield in dairy cattle by empirical mathematical models. Journal of Dairy Science 88 1178–1191CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDougall, S 2010 A randomised, non-inferiority trial of a new cephalonium dry-cow therapy. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 58 45–58Google Scholar
McNab, WB & Meek, AH 1991 A benefit-cost analysis of dry-cow mastitis therapy in dairy cattle in Ontario. Canadian Veterinary Journal 32 347–353Google Scholar
Miller, GY & Bartlett, PC 1991 Economic effects of mastitis prevention strategies for dairy producers. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 198 227–231CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mollenkopf, DF, Glendening, C, Wittum, TE, Funk, JA, Tragesser, LA & Morley, PS 2010 Association of dry cow therapy with the antimicrobial susceptibility of fecal coliform bacteria in dairy cows. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 96 30–35CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Myllys, V, Asplund, K, Brofeldt, E, Hirvela-Koski, V, Honkanen-Buzalski, T, Junttila, J, Kulkas, L, Myllykangas, O, Niskanen, M, Saloniemi, H, Sandholm, M & Saranpaa, T 1998 Bovine mastitis in Finland in 1988 and 1995—changes in prevalence and antimicrobial resistence. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 39 119–126CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neave, FK, Dodd, FH & Henrichs, E 1950 Udder infections in the dry period. Journal of Dairy Research 17 37Google Scholar
Neave, FK, Dodd, FH & Kingwell, RG 1966 A methods for controlling udder disease. Veterinary Record 78 521–523CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Newman, KA, Rajala-Schultz, PJ, Degraves, FJ & Lakritz, J 2010 Association between milk yield and infection status at dry-off and intramammary infections at subsequent calving. Journal of Dairy Research 77 99–106Google Scholar
Olde Riekerink, RGM, Barkema, HW, Veenstra, S, Poole, DE, Dingwell, RT & Keefe, GP 2006 Prevalence of contagious mastitis pathogens in bulk tank milk in Prince Edward Island. Canadian Veterinary Journal 47 567–572Google ScholarPubMed
Oliver, SP, Gonzalez, RN, Hogan, JS, Jayarao, BM & Owens, WE 2004 Microbiological procedures for the diagnosis of bovine udder infection and determination of milk quality. Verona WI, USA: National Mastitis CouncilGoogle Scholar
Østerås, O, Edge, VL & Martin, SW 1999 Determinants of success and failure in the elimination of major mastitis pathogens in selective dry cow therapy. Journal of Dairy Science 82 1221–1231Google Scholar
Østerås, O & Sandvik, L 1996 Effects of selective dry-cow therapy on culling rate, clinical mastitis, milk yield and cow somatic sell count. A randomized clinical field study in cows. Journal of Veterinary Medicine 43 555–575Google Scholar
Østerås, O, Solbu, H, Refsdal, AO, Roalkvam, T, Filseth, O & Minsaas, A 2007 Results and evaluation of thirty years of health recordings in the Norwegian dairy cattle population. Journal of Dairy Science 90 4483–4497Google Scholar
Rajala, PJ & Gröhn, YT 1998 Disease occurrence and risk factors analysis in Finnish Ayrshire cows. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 39 1–13CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rajala-Schultz, PJ, Gröhn, YT, McCulloch, CE & Guard, C 1999 Effects of clinical mastitis on milk yield in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 82 1213–1220Google Scholar
Rajala-Schultz, PJ, Torres, AH, DeGraves, FJ, Gebreyes, WA & Patchanee, P 2009 Antimicrobial resistance and strain persistence of coagulase-negative staphylococci over the dry period. Veterinary Microbiology 134 55–64CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rindsig, RB, Rodewald, RG, Smith, AR & Spahr, SL 1978 Complete versus selective dry cow therapy for mastitis control. Journal of Dairy Science 61 1483–1497CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robert, A, Seegers, H & Bareille, N 2006 Incidence of intramammary infections during the dry period without or with antibiotic treatment in dairy cows–a quantitative analysis of published data. Veterinary Research 37 25–48Google Scholar
Robinson, TC, Jackson, ER & Marr, A 1983 Within herd comparison of teat dipping and dry cow therapy with only selective dry cow therapy in six herds. Veterinary Record 112 315–319Google Scholar
Schukken, YH, Vanliet, J, Vandegeer, D & Grommers, FJ 1993 A randomized blind study on dry cow antibiotic infusion in a low somatic cell count herd. Journal of Dairy Science 76 2925–2930Google Scholar
Schultze, WD 1983 Effects of selective regimen of dry cow therapy on intramammary infection and on antibiotic sensitivity of surviving pathogens. Journal of Dairy Science 66 892–903Google Scholar
Seegers, H, Fourichon, C & Beaudeau, F 2003 Production effects related to mastitis and mastitis economics in dairy cattle herds. Veterinary Research 34 475–491Google Scholar
Smith, A, Neave, FK, Dodd, FH & Branner, GC 1966 Methods of reducing the incidence of udder infection in dry cows. Veterinary Record 79 233–236Google Scholar
Torres, AH, Rajala-Schultz, PJ & DeGraves, FJ 2009 Diagnosis of intramammary infections at dry-off based on sampling strategy, epidemiology of pathogens, and agreement beyond chance. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation 21 427–436CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Torres, AH, Rajala-Schultz, PJ, Degraves, FJ & Hoblet, KH 2008 Using dairy herd improvement records and clinical mastitis history to identify subclinical mastitis infections at dry-off. Journal of Dairy Research 75 240–247CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
USDA 2007 Dairy Study 2007, Part I: Reference of dairy cattle health and management practices in the United States, 2007. Fort Collins CO: USDA-APHIS-VS, CEAH: 122Google Scholar
USDA 2008 Antibiotic use on US dairy operations, 2002 and 2007. Info Sheet—October 2008 APHIS-Veterinary Services, Fort Collins CO, USAGoogle Scholar
WHO 2000 WHO global principles for the containment of antimicrobial resistance in animals intended for food. Report of a WHO Consultation with the participation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Office International des Epizooties. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health OrganizationGoogle Scholar
WVA 1999 WVA (World Veterinary Association) policy on the prudent use of antibiotics. WVA Bulletin 16 10–13Google Scholar