Intro to mastitis Flashcards
Define mastitis
Inflammation of the mammary gland
What changes to the milk can be caused by mastitis?
- Presence of clots/ lumps
- Changes in colour
- Changes in consistency
- Odour
List the clinical signs of mastitis
-Gland inflammation causes: Swelling Heat Hardening Pain/ tender to touch Necrosis of quarter -Systemic illness signs: Reduced milk yield Pyrexia Anorexia Tachycardia Tachypnoea
What is gangrenous mastitis?
-Extreme case of mastitis that has caused necrosis of the quarter and caused it to clough.
Describe the grades of mastitis
- Grade 1: milks, changes to milk ONLY
- Grade 2: moderate, changes to the udder e.g. pain/ heat/ swelling
- Grade 3: Severe, results in systemic changes to cow e.g. tachypnoea/ tachycardia/ pyrexia
What are the 2 main types of mastitis?
-Contagious and environmental
Discuss Streptococcus uberis and mastitis
- Most common cause of clinical mastitis in UK
- Gram positive coccus
- Cows kept on straw yards
Which mastitis causing pathogens are considered more environmental and which more contagious?
-Environmental: Strep uberus E.coli -Contagious Staph aureus Strep agalactiae
What is the 5 point plan?
Plan for mastitis control
List the steps in the five point plan
1) Post milking teat disinfection
2) Treat clinical cases promptly
3) Dry cow therapy for all animals
4) Cull chronically infected animals
5) Milking machine maintenance
How should pre milking teat disinfection be carried out?
-Should be applied for minimum 60 seconds and dried with paper towel
What is BMSCC?
Bulk milk somatic cell count- gives an idea as to the number of sub clinical mastitis cases in the herd
What is the CMT?
- Test to measure somatic cell count
- Milk is mixed with a detergent which reacts with any cells present: degree of thickening is proportional to number of cells
