Abstract

Mastitis caused by the environmental pathogen Streptococcus uberisis a significant problem for New Zealand dairy farmers. Previous work on teat-spraying heifers three times a week for three weeks prior to calving demonstrated that a decrease in S. uberisteat-end contamination reduced the proportion of quarters infected with S. uberisat calving. This study evaluated the effect of teat-spraying heifers in the dry period for its ability to reduce S. uberisclinical mastitis (CM) after calving. Heifers from five commercial dairy herds (n=343) and one research farm (n=54) were enrolled to the study. Half of the animals from each herd were assigned to a Sprayed and the other half to a Not Sprayed group. Both groups were brought to the dairy three times a week, beginning three weeks prior to predicted calving dates and heifers in the Sprayed group were teat-sprayed with a commercially available iodine-basedteat sanitizer. Cases of CM that occurred in the week after calving were sampled and submitted for bacteriological analysis. Incidence of S. uberisCM was 50% lower in the Sprayed, affecting 3.6% heifers vs. 7.4% heifers of the Not Sprayed group (P=0.085). There was an indication that teat-spraying heifers three weeks prior to calving may have positive benefits in the reduction of CM caused by S. uberisafter calving.

MG, Lopez-Benavides, JH Williamson, and SJ Lacy-Hulbert

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 67, Wanaka, 312-314, 2007