Alternative Approaches for the Prevention and Treatment of Mastitis

Abstract

Current methods of mastitis control based on proper milking hygiene, reduced exposure to environmental pathogens, and dry cow antibiotic therapy have reduced occurrences of the disease. However, mastitis continues to be the most costly disease affecting the dairy industry. The incidence of mastitis increases when defense mechanisms of the mammary gland are impaired. If immunomodulators can be used to augment immune functions at critical periods during the production of food animals, then the economic loss caused by mastitis should be reduced. This paper will review some of the recent advances in the area of mammary gland immune regulation.