Veterinarska stanica, Vol. 53 No. 6, 2022.
Review article
https://doi.org/10.46419/vs.53.6.8
Selective dry cow treatment
Nino Maćešić
; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb, Croatia
Iva Bačić
; Veterinary station „Vrbovec“, Croatia
Goran Bačić
; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb, Croatia
Martina Lojkić
orcid.org/0000-0003-2718-3348
; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb, Croatia
Marko Samardžija
; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb, Croatia
Miroslav Benić
; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Nikica Prvanović Babić
; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb, Croatia
Ivan Butković
; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb, Croatia
Juraj Šavorić
; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb, Croatia
Maša Efenfić
; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb, Croatia
Tugomir Karadjole
; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Mastitis is the most common disease in dairy cows and most antibiotics are used for treatment and prevention. Frequent, inappropriate, or unnecessary use of antimicrobials poses a major risk for accelerated development of antimicrobial resistance. Transmission of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens to humans is possible via milk and dairy products, and guidelines for the rational use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine are prescribed. In dairy farming, most antibiotics are used to prevent mastitis at drying off. At the same time, antibiotics are used unnecessarily even in uninfected animals. An alternative strategy that promotes lower antimicrobial usage is selective dry cow therapy, where only cows with mastitis receive antibiotic treatment. However, an issue in the implementation of selective dry cow treatment is the criteria applied for selecting the cow for drying off with antibiotics. Cow selection protocols should be sufficiently accurate, easy to perform and interpret, cost-effective, safe, certifiable, and applicable in different areas of a country. The criteria for cow selection can be based on bacteriological culture of milk, somatic cell count at drying off, incidence of clinical mastitis in previous lactation, parity, or any of their combinations. Bacteriological culture of milk is the gold standard, though somatic cell count at the last milking has proven to be a reliable indicator for cow selection to drying off with antibiotics without negative effects on milk production. The thresholds of <100,000 cells for primiparous cows and <200,000 cells for pluriparous cows are suggested as an efficient and sustainable decision tool. One way to further optimise antibiotic usage at drying-off is potentially drying-off at the quarter-level. In mastitis control strategies, optimal management of dry cows and their transition to a subsequent lactation is crucial, although considerable progress in the understanding of the epidemiology, immunology, diagnostics and pathogenesis of intramammary infection (IMI) in the dry period has been made over the years. The management of risk on IMI in the dry period is often underestimated in daily practice.
Keywords
cow; mastitis; dry period; selective dry cow treatment; antimicrobial resistance
Hrčak ID:
274103
URI
Publication date:
16.1.2022.
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