Pamela Ruegg, DVM, MPVM, wants dairy producers to avoid immediately reaching for an antibiotic when mastitis flares up. She recommends taking a step back to analyze the situation.
Antibiotic treatment of dry cows and of clinical mastitis cases accounted for greater than 75 percent of all antibiotic usage.” – Pamela Ruegg, DVM, MPVM
Source: Dairy Herd Management, September 20, 2022. Link. Data from Ruegg’s study found that the number of daily doses of antibiotics per cow per year varied enormously among farms. Ruegg recommends intramammary antibiotics for the shortest duration listed on the product label to help minimize antibiotic use and costs.
Most non-severe cases of clinical mastitis that are caused by E. coli or are culture negative when detected don’t require antibiotic therapy as the spontaneous cure rate is like the treatment cure rate.”
INSIGHTS: Consider sharing this article with dairy producers who tend to grab the bottle and syringe quickly.