Clinical microbiology in bovine practice

Abstract

Integration of the clinical microbiology laboratory into bovine practice encourages the veterinarian to establish disease control programs. Through education, the veterinarian can teach the cattleman to allow the veterinarian to select drugs for major problems on the basis of susceptibility testing. This method of drug selection should reduce drug costs since many older less expensive drugs will be found effective once "shot-gun" therapy is reduced. A record system, which tabulates according to organ system, results of previous susceptibility testing will indicate the best drug to begin therapy before susceptibility testing is complete on the case at hand. For these reasons it is important to do culture and susceptibility testing early in disease outbreaks and to keep tabulation of susceptibility results.