by Amanda Smith, Associate Editor
A number of producers in the Central Valley are reportedly struggling to combat Mycoplasma and mastitis, noted a recent report from the Milk Producers Council.
"All areas of the country experience peaks and valleys in mastitis," noted James Cullor, D.V.M., with the University of California Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center. "While lower precipitation levels moderate California's peaks and valleys, during the rainy season, though, we do experience more mastitis," he continued.
"Stress associated with the environmental change can lead to greater susceptibility after mastitis pathogen exposure," added Larry Fox, with Washington State University.
Mycoplasma is a highly contagious mastitis-causing organism that spreads quickly and has no effective treatment.
To estimate the prevalence of contagious mastitis pathogens on U.S. dairies, bulk tank milk samples were collected from 534 operations during the NAHMS 2007 study. Mycoplasma was isolated on 3.2 percent of operations. The prevalence of Mycoplasma also rose in conjunction with herd size.
"A break in milking procedures can lead to flare-ups. Producers have to manage their way out of a Mycoplasma outbreak," noted Cullor.
In the parlor, Cullor and Fox recommend using a good teat dip from a reputable source, wearing gloves, using single service towels, and maintaining good parlor ventilation and milking equipment function. For the cows, keep the environment clean and dry, maintain teat ends and don't invite disease in through sale barn purchases.
The Council's report linked heightened infection prevalence to the elimination of teat dips with nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE). For export purposes, processors in three states, California, Minnesota and Texas, have banned NPE.
"The removal of NPE and the spike in mastitis is unlikely to be a 1:1 correlation," noted Cullor. "Long before this ban, some companies began removing NPE from their dips. There are enough alternatives that a good dip, applied correctly, should be effective against Mycoplasma," he added.
Fox added, "NPE is likely not the cause of a mastitis spike since it is a surfactant and not teat dips' active ingredient."
(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2015
March 23, 2015
