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Feeding and Management

Control of Udder Infection by Management

National Institute for Research in Dairying, Reading, England

ABSTRACT

Evidence from field surveys indicates we are making very little progress in the control of udder disease apart from reducing the level of infection due to Streptococcus agalactiae. The conventional view is that the prevalence of the disease is due to poor husbandry and that most farmers could overcome the difficulty by applying what is currently accepted as good management. An objective consideration of the published literature gives almost no support to this optimistic viewpoint and reveals that we do not have a practical farm control for infections other than those caused by S. agalactiae.

In this paper the factors that determine the level of infection in a herd and the way a control might be achieved are discussed. On the basis of our present knowledge, it appears that of the various possible fields of research the study of management, and particularly hygiene, is most likely to produce a control within the next few years. However, for success, the hygiene systems will have to be much more effective than those currently in use.

¹ Currently Visiting Associate Professor, Animal Husbandry Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.