Special Issue "Clinical Mastitis and Intramammary Infections in Dairy Farms"

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Cattle".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ylva Persson
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Animal Health and Antibiotic Strategies, National Veterinary Institute, 751 89 Uppsala, Sweden
Interests: mastitis; intramammary infections; ruminants; dairy; antibiotic use; treatment decisions; prevention; udder health; somatic cell counts
Dr. Md. Mizanur Rahman
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medicine and Surgery Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Zakir Hossain Road, Khulshi, Chittagong-4225, Bangladesh
Interests: udder health; mastitis; prevention; antimicrobial resistance; dairy animals; safe milk

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mastitis is one of the most important diseases affecting dairy-producing animals. Worldwide, clinical mastitis, caused by intramammary infections, is one of the major reasons for antibiotic use in dairy herds, thus increasing the risk for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). As a result of treatment costs, reduced milk yield, culling, etc., clinical mastitis can have a substantial economic impact for dairy farmers, and, in many situations, the disease can be a public health hazard. Moreover, clinical mastitis can cause suffering for the individual animal and is thus of concern for animal welfare.

Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging global threat to people and animals, and by preventing diseases like clinical mastitis, we can reduce the amount of antibiotics used. Implementation of good udder health management routines, including good biosecurity, will lead to healthier udders and a reduced risk of clinical mastitis. When treating clinical mastitis, alternative methods other than antibiotics are preferred, but we need to make sure that they are as efficient as traditional treatment routines before they are recommended.

Original manuscripts that address any aspects of clinical mastitis and intramammary infections are invited for this Special Issue. Topics of special interest are as follows: how to treat clinical mastitis, including alternatives to antibiotics as well as supportive therapy; decision-making for larger herds, e.g., the use of sensors; risk factors for clinical mastitis; causative pathogens and AMR; and the prevention of clinical mastitis and intramammary infections. We welcome studies on all kinds of dairy-producing animal species, covering different production systems all over the world.

Dr. Ylva Persson
Dr. Md. Mizanur Rahman
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • clinical mastitis
  • intramammary infection
  • treatment decision
  • antibiotic use
  • prevention
  • udder pathogens
  • diagnosis
  • herd health
  • alternative treatment

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

Article
Incidence, Etiology, and Risk Factors of Clinical Mastitis in Dairy Cows under Semi-Tropical Circumstances in Chattogram, Bangladesh
Animals 2021, 11(8), 2255; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11082255 - 30 Jul 2021
Viewed by 619
Abstract
Clinical mastitis (CM) is an important production disease in dairy cows, but much of the knowledge required to effectively control CM is lacking, specifically in low-income countries where most farms are small and have specific dairy management, such as regular udder cleaning and [...] Read more.
Clinical mastitis (CM) is an important production disease in dairy cows, but much of the knowledge required to effectively control CM is lacking, specifically in low-income countries where most farms are small and have specific dairy management, such as regular udder cleaning and practicing hand milking. Therefore, we conducted a 6-month-long cohort study to (a) estimate the incidence rate of clinical mastitis (IRCM) at the cow and quarter level, (b) identify risk factors for the occurrence of CM, (c) describe the etiology of CM, and (d) quantify antimicrobial susceptibility (AMS) against commonly used antimicrobial agents in S. aureus and non-aureus Staphylococcus spp. (NAS) in dairy farms in the Chattogram region of Bangladesh. On 24 farms, all cows were monitored for CM during a 6-month period. Cases of CM were identified by trained farmers and milk samples were collected aseptically before administering any antimicrobial therapy. In total, 1383 lactating cows were enrolled, which totaled 446 cow-years at risk. During the study period, 196 new cases of CM occurred, resulting in an estimated crude IRCM of 43.9 cases per 100 cow-years, though this varied substantially between farms. Among the tested CM quarter samples, Streptococci (22.9%) followed by non-aureus staphylococci (20.3%) were the most frequently isolated pathogens and resistance of S. aureus and NAS against penicillin (2 out of 3 and 27 out of 39 isolates, respectively) and oxacillin (2 out of 3 and 38 out of 39 isolates, respectively) was common. The IRCM was associated with a high milk yield, 28 to 90 days in milk, and a higher body condition score. Our results show that there is substantial room for udder health improvement on most farms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Mastitis and Intramammary Infections in Dairy Farms)
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Article
Microbial Aetiology, Antibiotic Susceptibility and Pathogen-Specific Risk Factors for Udder Pathogens from Clinical Mastitis in Dairy Cows
Animals 2021, 11(7), 2113; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11072113 - 16 Jul 2021
Viewed by 1091
Abstract
Mastitis is one of the most important infectious diseases and one of the diseases that causes the greatest use of antibiotics in dairy cows. Therefore, updated information on the bacteria that cause mastitis and their antibiotic susceptibility properties is important. Here, for the [...] Read more.
Mastitis is one of the most important infectious diseases and one of the diseases that causes the greatest use of antibiotics in dairy cows. Therefore, updated information on the bacteria that cause mastitis and their antibiotic susceptibility properties is important. Here, for the first time in over 10 years, we updated the bacterial findings in clinical mastitis in Swedish dairy cows together with their antibiotic resistance patterns and risk factors for each bacterial species. During the period 2013–2018, samples from clinical mastitis were collected, together with information on the cows and herds of origin. The samples were cultured, and a total of 664 recovered bacterial isolates were subjected to susceptibility testing. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was the most common pathogen and accounted for 27.8% of diagnoses, followed by Streptococcus dysgalactiae (S. dysgalactiae) (15.8%), Escherichia coli (E. coli) (15.1%), Streptococcus uberis (S. uberis) (11.4%), Trueperella pyogenes (T. pyogenes) (7.7%), non-aureus staphylococci (NAS) (2.8%), Klebsiella spp. (2.7%), Enterococcus spp. (1.3%), and Streptococcus agalactiae (S. agalactiae) (1.2%). Various other bacteria accounted for 2.6%. Staphylococci were, in general, susceptible to most antibiotics, but 2.6% of S. aureus and 30.4% of NAS were resistant to penicillin. No methicillin-resistant staphylococci were found. All S. agalactiae were susceptible to penicillin. Bimodal and trimodal MIC distributions for penicillin in S. dysgalactiae and S. uberis, respectively, indicate acquired reduced susceptibility in some isolates. The mostly unimodal MIC distributions of T. pyogenes indicate that acquired resistance does usually not occur in this species. Among E. coli, 14.7% were resistant to at least one antibiotic, most often ampicillin (8.7%), streptomycin (7.8%), or sulphamethoxazole (6.9%). Klebsiella spp. had low resistance to tetracycline (9.1%) but is considered intrinsically resistant to ampicillin. Pathogen-specific risk factors were investigated using multivariable models. Staphylococcus aureus, S. dysgalactiae, and T. pyogenes were more common, while E. coli was less common in quarters with more than one pathogen. S. aureus and T. pyogenes were mostly seen in early lactation, while E. coli was more common in peak to mid lactation and S. dysgalactiae in early to peak lactation. Trueperella pyogenes and Klebsiella spp. were associated with a previous case of clinical mastitis in the current lactation. Staphylococcus aureus was associated with tie stalls and T. pyogenes with loose housing. All pathogens except E. coli and S. dysgalactiae had a seasonal distribution. In conclusion, the aetiological agents for clinical bovine mastitis have remained relatively stable over the last 10–15 years, S. aureus, S. dysgalactiae, E. coli and S. uberis being the most important. Resistance to penicillin among Gram-positive agents was low, and in general, antibiotic resistance to other compounds was low among both Gram-positive and Gram-negative agents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Mastitis and Intramammary Infections in Dairy Farms)
Communication
Risk Factors Associated With Mastitis in Smallholder Dairy Farms in Southeast Brazil
Animals 2021, 11(7), 2089; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11072089 - 14 Jul 2021
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Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the potential risk factors for clinical and subclinical mastitis in smallholder dairy farms in Brazil. A prospective, repeated cross-sectional study was carried out between May 2018 and June 2019 on 10 smallholder dairy farms. Potential [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to investigate the potential risk factors for clinical and subclinical mastitis in smallholder dairy farms in Brazil. A prospective, repeated cross-sectional study was carried out between May 2018 and June 2019 on 10 smallholder dairy farms. Potential risk factors for subclinical and clinical mastitis at the herd and cow level were recorded through interviewing the owner and by observation. A combination of clinical udder examination and the Tamis (screened mug with a dark base) test (Tadabras Indústria e Comércio de Produtos Agrovetereinário LTDA, Bragrança Paulista, SP, Brazil) were applied to observe clinical mastitis, and the California Mastitis Test (Tadabras Indústria e Comércio de Produtos Agrovetereinário LTDA, Bragrança Paulista, SP, Brazil) was used to determine subclinical mastitis. A total of 4567 quarters were tested, 107 (2.3%) had clinical mastitis, while 1519 (33.2%) had subclinical mastitis. At the cow level, clinical mastitis risk was highest in mid-lactation (50–150 days in milk) with OR 2.62 with 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.03–6.67, while subclinical mastitis was highest in late lactation (> 150 days in milk) with OR 2.74 (95% CI 2.05–3.63) and lower in primiparous (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.41–0.71) than multiparous cows. At the herd level, using dry-cow treatment (OR 4.23, 95% CI 1.42–12.62) was associated with an increased risk of clinical mastitis. Milking clinical (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.24–0.56) and subclinical cases last (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.09–0.47) and cleaning the milking parlor regularly (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.15–0.46) had decreased odds for subclinical mastitis, while herds with optimized feed had greater odds (OR 9.11, 95% CI 2.59–31.9). Prevalence of clinical mastitis was at its lowest at the first visit in June/July and highest at the last visit in April/June (OR 3.81, 95% CI 1.93–7.52). Subclinical mastitis also presented increased odds in the last visit (OR 2.62, 95% CI 2.0–3.36). This study has identified some risk factors for mastitis on smallholder farms but further research on more farms across more areas of Brazil is required to develop a targeted mastitis control program for smallholder farms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Mastitis and Intramammary Infections in Dairy Farms)
Article
Total and Differential Cell Counts as a Tool to Identify Intramammary Infections in Cows after Calving
Animals 2021, 11(3), 727; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030727 - 07 Mar 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 565
Abstract
Milk differential somatic cells count (DSCC), made possible under field conditions by the recent availability of a high-throughput milk analyzer may represent an improvement in mastitis diagnosis. While an increasing number of studies reports data on DSCC on individual cow samples, very few [...] Read more.
Milk differential somatic cells count (DSCC), made possible under field conditions by the recent availability of a high-throughput milk analyzer may represent an improvement in mastitis diagnosis. While an increasing number of studies reports data on DSCC on individual cow samples, very few concerns DSCC from quarter milk samples. This paper reports for the first time the results of a retrospective study aiming to assess the performance of total (SCC), DSCC, and a novel calculated marker (PLCC) measured on quarter milk samples as a method to identify cows at risk for intramammary infection (IMI) in the first 30 days after calving. Overall, 14,586 valid quarter milk samples (3658 cows) taken in the first 30 days of lactation were considered. Quarters with major pathogens (MP) IMI, as expected, showed significantly higher means for SCC, DSCC, and PLCC. The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the diagnosis based on different cut-offs calculated by ROC analysis are relatively close among DSCC, PLCC, and SCC (up to cut-off of 200,000 cells/mL). However, decision-tree analysis which includes the costs of analysis, but also the costs of the actions taken after test results showed as PLCC has the lowest cost among the three markers, and PLCC and SCC are cost effective when MP prevalence is higher than 6–10%. This diagnostic approach is of high interest particularly when selective dry cow therapy is applied to improve animal health at the herd level. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Mastitis and Intramammary Infections in Dairy Farms)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Tentative Title: Prevalence of Dairy Cow's Udder Pathogens and Detection of Virulence Factors in Staphylococci

Authors: František Zigo 1,*, Zuzana Farkašová 1, Jana Výrostková 2, Ivana Regecová 2, Mária Vargová 3, Ewa Pecka-Kielb4, Jolanta Bujok4 and Pikhtirova, Alina 5
Affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Animal Husbandry, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, Košice, Komenského 73, 04181, Slovakia
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