Comparison of probiotic and antibiotic intramammary therapy of cattle with clinical mastitis

Abstract

The effects of treating clinical mastitis with intramammary infusions of either a Lactobacillus or an antibiotic preparation on intramammary infection cure rate and on milk somatic cell count (SCC) were compared during a 10-month study. A total of 75 clinical quarters were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments. Quarter foremilk samples were obtained from all quarters at days 0, 7 and 14 following infusion to determine the microbiological status and SCC. Monthly composite milk SCC were obtained from the DHIA. The majority of pathogens isolated were Gram-negative bacilli and environmental streptococci. Treatment of quarters with Lactobacillus cured 35.3% of infected quarters, while 57.7% of infections treated with antibiotic were eliminated. Correspondingly, av. SCC remained unchanged for Lactobacillus-treated quarters for 14 days after infusion while av. SCC of antibiotic-treated quarters decreased during the same time-period. Although there was no treatment difference in monthly DHIA composite SCC prior to and following treatment, there was an increase in composite SCC for Lactobacillus-treated quarters. The results indicate that this Lactobacillus product was not effective as an intramammary treatment for mastitis.