CHRONIC MASTITIS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 June 1938, Page 3

CHRONIC MASTITIS

MEASURES TO ENSURE PREVENTION. PROPER ORDiR OF MILKING. How the incidence of chronic mastitis in a herd had been halved in 18 months was described by Mr F. Q. Bell in a recent broadcast talk in the Scottish Regional programme. The proportion of infected cows had been reduced from 30 per cent to 15 per cent.

Mr Bell had samples of the milk from every cow examined for mastitis at three-monthly intervals. In this way cows infected, but giving normal milk, were detected as well as more advanced cases. The cows were then separated into three groups —clean, doubtful and infected cows. Milking was carried out in this order —the clean cows first, then the doubtful and infected. Newly calved heifers were always clean, and by this means they were kept so. New infections did occur, but in some cases the cause had been traced to washing an infected animal first and then going to a clean one. Since “we started adding potassium permanganate to the washing water, we have had no more occurrences of that description, and we find the number of new infections is becoming less at every test,” said Mr Bell. Use has been made of German dyestuff preparations for infected cows, and when injected into the teats of bad cases good results have been obtained. In mild cases, however, “some disastrous results in the shape of lost quarters” have followed this treatment.

All eruptive diseases such as cow pox, sore teats or cracked teats are liable to cause mastitis in dairy cows. Infection generally occurs through the teat passage, but as it may also gain access through a lesion in the skin of the udder great care should be taken in the treatment of even a slight scratch, while anyone who has charge of, and is dressing, a badly suppurating wound or sore should not be allowed to milk a cow in view of the danger of infecting the udder. Although a dry cow may be infected with mastitis, it is usually an animal in full milk which suffers from the acute form, and cows which do not properly hold their milk owing to the weakness of the muscle closing the end of the teat are more susceptible to the disease than others. Very often the blame is put on to what are actually secondary causes, such as cold and wet, over-stocking, use of a dirty milk syphon, insufficient milking, etc.