MASTITIS RESEARCH

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 122, 9 June 1937, Page 15

MASTITIS RESEARCH

Special Herd Established in Victoria CONTROL SCHEME The Departmant of Agriculture in Australia is faking steps to carry out special investigational work in relation to mastitis. For this purpose, a spe.cial dairy herdi lias been established in .the Berwick district of Victoria. Mr J). Murnane (veterinary research officer of the council of Scientific and Industrial Research) has been placed in charge of the farm where the oxperiments are being carried out. At present the herd consists of 49 cows, all of which have been tested for tuberculosis and contagious abortion and found free. Regular tests will be mad® from time to tirne. The herd ie being established in order to carry out systematic observations on the hacterial flora of the normal udder and ensure clean, normai animals for experimental purposes. » Should mastitis occur in the herd, the investigating committee will at least have the complete history of each cow and the complete history of the bacterial content of eaoh quarter of each cow. Systematic bacteriological examinations of the udders of the cows in th^ experimental herd are carried out. When a cow calves, and before the calf is allowed to suck, a specimen is collected from the teat canal of each quarter. Following this, bacteriological examinations are made daily of the secretion from each quarter. The examinations involve the determination of the "total number of bqcteria present in each sample and the types of bacteria present. A count is alsd. made of the number of cells present. The next stage. in the investigation will be the systematic exainination of the members of the herds known to be affected with mastitis. A complete study of the disease in sever-al selected herds will he carried out.