Short communication: Weak associations between mastitis control measures and bulk milk somatic cell counts in Swedish dairy herds. 2017

U Emanuelson, and C Nielsen
Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, SE-75007, Sweden. Electronic address: ulf.emanuelson@slu.se.

Despite the fact that control programs have been available for several decades, mastitis remains an important problem in dairy herds around the world. Possible reasons for this include poor uptake and application of recommended mastitis control measures; poor or variable compliance; or variability in the effects of these measures. The objective of this study was to evaluate the associations between implemented mastitis control measures and bulk milk somatic cell count (BMSCC) in Swedish dairy herds. Data for this study were collected primarily from an extensive self-administered postal questionnaire about the herds, the people responsible for udder health, and details of udder health and mastitis management. A total of 898 questionnaires were distributed, and 428 questionnaires were returned (overall response rate of 48%), but we used the information from only 395 herds in this study. For all herds, we collected data on herd size and geometric average calculated BMSCC from the Swedish Official Milk Recording Scheme. We used logistic regression to assess the association between mastitis control measures and BMSCC, dichotomized as low (<200,000 cells/mL) or high (>200,000 cells/mL). We investigated 21 measures that have been suggested for mastitis control, but found only 2 to be associated with udder health as measured by BMSCC. Not providing dry cows with a specialized mineral feed was significantly associated with increased risk of high BMSCC, and not using post-milking teat disinfectant tended to be associated with increased risk. The lack of association for all other measures was not likely due to low power (because most of these measures had variable implementation rates) but could be due to the relatively narrow range of BMSCC in our study (range 61,000-524,000 cells/mL). However, our results agreed well with those of other recent studies, supporting the call for a thorough review of the current knowledge of mastitis control and for wider application of intervention studies to verify the actual effects of suggested control measures.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008414 Mastitis, Bovine INFLAMMATION of the UDDER in cows. Bovine Mastitides,Bovine Mastitis,Mastitides, Bovine
D008892 Milk The off-white liquid secreted by the mammary glands of humans and other mammals. It contains proteins, sugar, lipids, vitamins, and minerals. Cow Milk,Cow's Milk,Milk, Cow,Milk, Cow's
D002417 Cattle Domesticated bovine animals of the genus Bos, usually kept on a farm or ranch and used for the production of meat or dairy products or for heavy labor. Beef Cow,Bos grunniens,Bos indicus,Bos indicus Cattle,Bos taurus,Cow,Cow, Domestic,Dairy Cow,Holstein Cow,Indicine Cattle,Taurine Cattle,Taurus Cattle,Yak,Zebu,Beef Cows,Bos indicus Cattles,Cattle, Bos indicus,Cattle, Indicine,Cattle, Taurine,Cattle, Taurus,Cattles, Bos indicus,Cattles, Indicine,Cattles, Taurine,Cattles, Taurus,Cow, Beef,Cow, Dairy,Cow, Holstein,Cows,Dairy Cows,Domestic Cow,Domestic Cows,Indicine Cattles,Taurine Cattles,Taurus Cattles,Yaks,Zebus
D002452 Cell Count The number of CELLS of a specific kind, usually measured per unit volume or area of sample. Cell Density,Cell Number,Cell Counts,Cell Densities,Cell Numbers,Count, Cell,Counts, Cell,Densities, Cell,Density, Cell,Number, Cell,Numbers, Cell
D003612 Dairying Production, storage, and distribution of DAIRY PRODUCTS. Dairy Industry,Dairy Industries,Industries, Dairy,Industry, Dairy
D005260 Female Females
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D013548 Sweden Country in northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Finland and Norway. The capital is Stockholm.

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