Mastitis and the Dry Period

Abstract

Today many of us are apt to think of the dry period , as it relates to mastitis, as a time for effective therapy of the chronic infections present at drying off. Sometimes overlooked is the fact that the dry period is a time of high risk of new infections. Many of the intramammary infections (IMI) that will cause problems in the next lactation, especially the troublesome clinical cases so common just after calving, are due to infections established during the dry period. The emphasis of this presentation is on new infections during the dry period, and it will consider times of high susceptibility in the dry period, the types of infections most likely to occur, factors in susceptibility, dry period therapy as a prophylactic measure, and some management practices that may influence the new infection rate.