EARLY ANTIBIOTIC THERAPY OF MASTITIS IN DAIRY COWS: EFFECT ON QUARTER INFECTION AND MILK COMPOSITION
Determination of the effect of early antibiotic therapy of mastitis on
elimination of quarter infection and restoration of altered compositional
quality of raw milk
Bacterial infection of an udder quarter usually causes a depression in yield and a change in composition of the milk. A single quarter infected for one lactation may reduce the milk production of affected cow by 10-12% in that lactation.
The alterations in milk composition influence adversely the manufacturing and keeping quality of dairy products (Rogers et al., 1989); thus resulting in indirect losses to the dairy industry also. If economically feasible, treatment of mastitis during lactations provides the greatest potential for limiting the udder damage and restoring the milk compositional quality.
Further, treatment of subclinical mastitis during lactation and that too in the case of non-availability of dry therapy preparations may have a positive effect on the control of mastitis. Logically, many cases of clinical mastitis will be prevented if subclinical form is controlled effectively. (...to read more)
