Recording plays vital part in mastitis control

The importance of recording mastitis incidence and managing mastitis in large herds were just some of the topics discussed at last week’s British Mastitis Conference, Aly Balsom reports

A lack of clinical mastitis recording is preventing farmers and the industry from truly getting on top of the disease.

Effective treatment of mastitis on farm relies on understanding patterns of infection and according to vet Mark Burnell from Synergy Farm Health, it is impossible to run a business without recording.

Speaking to Farmers Weekly at Worcester Rugby Club, he said: “Recording is often seen as a tickbox exercise for farm assurance, but it is so much more than that. Farmers need to see an outcome from recording, so there is a really need to make it useful and act on findings.”

A study presented at the conference by Chris Hudson from Nottingham University, demonstrated the lack of quality recording on dairy farms. Of 468 herds – selected as being good data recorders – 214 were ruled out because of poor fertility recording. Further selection for those that recorded clinical mastitis rates well, bought the number of useable farms down to 105.

It is crucial producers record incidence at farm level to analyse patterns of disease, said Martin Green from Nottingham University.

“However there is also need to record and collate information at a national level to identify genetic links to diseases such as mastitis and lameness. This would help identify bulls that had a tendency to be more resistant to diseases.

“I can understand why we don’t have a system in place at present. The way the UK is set up in terms of milk recording and different systems is very complicated. However, we need to find a way to record within the system we have.”

Mr Burnell agreed: “As a country we should be ashamed that we can’t access information on mastitis incidence. Scandanavian countries no everything and record everything. The trouble is, we have zillions of recording systems, but no central database for recording and selection.”

How can we accurately select for disease resistance if we don’t know which animals are more prone, John Cook from Genus ABS asked delegates.

“We are being held back by a lack of mastitis recording – without fundamental recording of incidence, we won’t be able to make progress and identify a genetic link.”

Discussion among delegates suggested that in order for such a database to come into existence, there was a requirement for regulation or strong industry leadership. There was also a need to clearly define what a case of clinical mastitis was.

Training vital part of control

Investing in people is key to getting on top of mastitis levels, particularly when it comes to larger dairy herds, said dairy producer, Nick Cobb.

Mr Cobb, who oversees 2,500 cows across several units in Dorset, explained that mastitis was part of a whole-herd package.

“Mastitis control definitely involves people and they need appropriate support and training. I think the cost of mastitis is hugely underestimated, and even more so on larger herds.”

He stressed that adhering to the basics, such as providing cows with a clean, comfortable, dry environment, was crucial in the fight against mastitis. From experience across his dairy farms, Mr Cobb explained that the following would help achieve these aims:

• Look at cow behaviour in and around cubicles – are beds dirty? If so, why? Can dimensions be improved?

• Establish what your actual stocking rate is – this can easily go wrong in large herds. Keep good records of where cows are and walk round the sheds and see whether all cubicles are actually useable and calculate stocking rate accordingly

• Good ventilation – slotted roofs are recommendable on new builds, or counter lever swing over Yorkshire boarding can be retrofitted to existing sheds

• Deep bed sand is the gold standard for mastitis and cow comfort – but correct cubicle dimensions are still crucial

• Cubicle train heifers

• Monitor staff on basics

• Carry out static and dynamic testing of parlour 3-4 times a year

• Monitor dry cow nutrition to reduce udder oedema

• Clean out beds regularly and pay particular attention in the fresh cow pen where cubicles can be dirtier and groups can include mixed parity animals

Importance of good stockmanship

Solutions to mastitis cannot always be found in a bottle – good stockmanship and recording is key, said vet Jon Reader, Synergy Farm Health.

Speaking in relation to the role of the mastitis vaccine, he explained that it may be easy to opt for vaccination or changing a product, but it was more important to analyse where mastitis was originating from, as well as cure rates.

“Vaccination is one of 377 question detailed in the DairyCo Mastitis Plan (DCMP), so there is a lot going on before we start to think of vaccination. It’s important to go back to basics and get that right before.”

Startvac, which is the only mastitis vaccine available in the UK, offers protection against E coli and Staph aureus, but not against Strep uberis – a major cause of clinical and sub clinical mastitis on many farm. As a result it is important to carry out bacteriology to identify which bugs are responsible for infection.

However, where vaccination is appropriate as part an overall mastitis control strategy, it is possible to see a significant reduction in mastitis incidence.

“Reducing mastitis incidence is often the main driver for using the vaccine, however this is not the only effect,” said Mr Reader.

“You can also see reduced severity, reduced somatic cell counts, increased yields and a reduction in lost quarters, along with an increase in spontaneous cure rates and cure rates.”

He said cure rates were one area which needed to be analysed in more detail on farm, as well as where in lactation they were occurring.

“The need for good record keeping is even more important when using the mastitis vaccine – it is vital to keep monitoring,” he said.

A three-dose vaccination policy: 45 days before calving, 10 days before calving and 52 days post calving results in immunity lasting up to 130 days in lactation.

Mr Reader explained that one farm began to see an increase in E coli mastitis later in lactation, because immunity began to reduce after 130 days. This made it even more important to know exactly when mastitis was occurring in a herd.

To prevent this immunity drop-off later in lactation a three-month rolling, off-label programme can be adopted to booster immunity.