Mastitis, its impact on balance sheet of small holder and its control through effective management
- a) The milk got from affected animal can not be sold
- b) If the milk from affected animal is mixed with the milk of others the whole milk looses its quality
- c) Discomfort to the animal due to suffering from the disease continues decreasing its milk yield
- d) Loss of money on treatment without any guarantee because cure of mastitis depends on its stage of diagnose and on accurate and timely treatment
- e) Loss of one teat means loss of 50% value of the animals in the market
- f) Loss of one teat is a clear indication that that the remaining 3 teats are permanently at risk
- a) Providing healthy environment by the farmers inside and around animals shed
- b) Teat protection after milking to control entry of bacteria
- c) A watchful eye by the farmers on each teat of the udder of his each animal before and after milking
- d) Regular test of fresh milk to check the incidence of mastitis at very initial stage
- a) In the villages where most of our livestock population is present, quality surf is not available and sometimes sub standard washing powder could be used.
- b) quality of water available in the villages is also not uniform thus a test carried out using water with high TDS may give misleading results.
Since much more work has been done in the world to control this menace, I will like to suggest in the interest of the farmers community to move further by using modern techniques which give guarantee to keep the herd free from mastitis.
1. CMT (California Mastitis Kit)
This is a kit which has a solution which is used in a paddle tray with four potions to test milk from individual teat to locate the actual problem right from initial stage and indicates the stage of disease as well.
By using this KIT, the farmer will be alarmed about the incidence of Mastitis and its stage.
If mastitis is observed at initial stage it is very easy to nip the evil in the bud without much cost.
2. DIPAL
This is a ready-made concentrate to be used in post milking stage in teat dip cup to dip each teat.
Dipal in addition to being an antiseptic solution also creates a protective coating/layer on each teat giving protection at least for 45 minutes by not allowing any bacteria to enter the teat while the risk period is approximately 30 minutes.
Dr Aravinth VO
Regarding diagnosis the instant and on the spot diagnostic of mastitis is very simple, cheap and most reliable.
The normal pH of milk is ~6.5 and the mastitic milk is always high and may range from 7.0 onwards and go up to 9.0. Hense, monitoring of pH i mastitis is very crucial and can be easily done with graded pH papers or a pen pH mteter on the spot and treatment can be started immediately. The basis of this test are that citrate content in milk is very essential in the maintainance of H+ and equiliberate the pH of milk at normal level i.e., ~6.5. Whenever ther is disturbance in synthesis of citrate in the udder the tight junctions between milk and blood become compromised and leaky and bringing the milk pH equivalent to that of blood (7.4) or even higher. This results due to the inefficency of the moderator effect of lowered levels of citrate in udder and formationof flakes due to clumping of free calcium which injures the secretory epithelium. If the injury is of greater intensity there may be blood mixed with milk or frank blood from the affected quarter and the pH may shoot up to 8-9.0. Therefor, the instant treatment with tri-Sodium citrate orally or I/V gives best control from mastitis by restoring the normal pH of the uddder. Moreover, at this normal pH of 6.50 the commonly isolated pathogens are scavenged from the udder and the normal millieus is preserved.
Dr. Jasmer Singh (Rtd. Prof. from PAU, Ludhiana, Punjab, India)
it is really very good article in mastitis control in field condition help to reduce the cost therapy in field apart from avoid quantity of milk disposal because of antibiotic residual unfit for human consumption
SURF TEST
Surf is a commercial name of washing powder of a multinational co. However any washing powder available in the area can be used to judge the presence of mastitis in milk. This is the cheapest way and can be done by any farmer as washing powders are easily available even in villages. This is not complete test but it is a sure way to indicate the presence of the disease. It will not tell the intensity of the disease for which a farmer will have to go to lab once presence is confirmed through this test.
1. Prepare 3% solution of surf(washing powder)
2.Take 2ml of this solution and mix it with same quantity of milk to be tested
3.Precipitation or thick jelly like substance will confirm the presence of disease
4.It can be done on milk recieved from individual quarters of the udder also.
Sir
It is a good article pertain to mastitis. Kindly give better clarity on SURF test. The methods principles and procedure.
Thanking you.
I agree with Mr. Khan that mastitis should be diagnosed at a very early stage so that it can be treated on time and prevent further losses occurring.
But the main problem with our small dairy holders is that the treatment of mastitis is very costly and even after diagnosing the condition in its early stages the dairy holders don’t give proper treatment and instead wait for the mastitis to recover by itself or use indigenous medications. Our goal should be to introduce a low priced and effective medication for mastitis so that each farmer can easily buy and use it
Thanks
Mastitis in good dairy farm it is problem of management and hygienical problem
Dear All
what are the other soulation ( Local or Traditional) for the treatment of cows agasint mastitis instead of Antiboitc for severe mastitis
There is no doubt that mastitis is the most important problem of dairy farms. As we all know that milk is suitable enviroment for bacterial growth and if we do not have appropriate udder health measures and milking management , mastitis is inevitable result.
First consideration for general mastitis control is we should provide our cows enough, comfortable and clean barn place to lay down. After milking udder needs about 20-30 minutes to close its tips which is open to infectious agents during this time. We can feed our cows just after milking to prevent possible laying down and contamination.
Another consideration is proper milking management and early detection of mastitis can prevent possible outbreaks in your herd. In order to succeed this we should test our cows with CMT in monthly basis to identify subacute mastitis cows and treat them. If you have periodic Somatic cell count(SCC) and Total bacteria count ( TBC) results these results can give you tips about your herd’s udder health level..
Suitable milking equipment and trained milking staff also very important for your mastitis control program. Pre and post milking procedures should be carried properly. Before milking udders should be cleaned and dried then teats controlled for possible mastitis symptoms. Milking should be carried on with appropriate vacuum. After milking udder should be controlled again for retained milk and dysinfected with suitable dysinfectan agents by teat dipping or springs. It is advisable do not use water soluble agents in cold weather conditions to prevent possible freezing on teat. In winter conditions foam and creme forms can be used.
As we know protection measures is always easier and cheaper way than treatment programs.
My Regards.
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