HEAL ▶▶▶TH
A cure for mastitis? A
BY TREENA HEIN
n effective treatment for mastitis seems like the holy grail in dairy farming. In dairy farms around the world, this condition is common and serious, affecting cow health, milk production and, of
course, farm profits. “During the last century, significant advances to control mastitis have been made,” explain sci- entists at the ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute in India, who published a new overview of these advances in February 2021. However, they add that “changing population dynamics, herd structure and more rigorous processor stand- ards make mastitis a complicated disease”, and it “remains a foremost problem of the dairy industry”. These scientists reviewed approaches to control and treat mastitis, including genetic selection, nutrition (feeding anti- oxidants, trace minerals, specific vitamins) and either dry cow therapy or lactation therapy (antibiotics during the dry period or during lactation). Other treatments, such as internal teat sealants in combination with antibiotics, have also shown some success in treating the disease. Acoustic pulse therapy represents a promising new approach. By and large, however, it’s antibiotics that veterinarians and dairy farmers have historically relied on to treat mastitis – and
they still do. But while antibiotics do work, any treated cow must be taken out of the milking pool for a period of time to prevent contamination of the milk supply with antibiotic resi- dues. Antibiotics also do nothing to repair the tissue damage caused by the infection. And with bacterial resistance to antibiotics growing each year, it’s critical that a new solution be found to treat mastitis. Indeed, the Indian scientists say, “A universal therapeutic agent or technique that can be considered as a replacement for antibiotic therapy is the need of this century.”
Novel approach Just such a potential replacement for antibiotics to treat mas- titis is being developed by Dr Gerlinde Van de Walle at the Baker Institute for Animal Health at Cornell University in New York, US, with colleagues. This approach is generating a lot of excitement, not just for its potential to replace or augment antibiotics, but also because it’s a natural treatment, derived from the cow’s body itself.
A revolutionary new treatment approach is being developed in New York. We take a look at the novel approach generating a lot of excitement in the sector.
In discussion, Dr Gerlinde Van de Walle (left) and Rebecca Harman (right), research support special- ist in the Van de Walle lab at the Baker Institute.
▶ DAIRY GLOBAL | Volume 8, No. 3, 2021 15
PHOTO: RACHEL PHILIPSON
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