€ 4,000 per year by reducing SCC by from 200,000 to 100,000, depending on milk price. And the earlier the mastitis occurs in the lactation period, the higher the costs.
Maintaining immunity Like any other disease, prevention is key here and better than the cure, especially in the line of curbing antibiotic use as much as possible in farm animals. Strengthening the immune system of cows is part of a successful prevention strategy be- cause an appropriate immune function is essential for host defence against intramammary infections. It is a known fact that the mammary gland immune system is compromised around calving (due to intensive milk production early lacta- tion representing the highest risk of developing mastitis. In this case, the number of mature neutrophils is limited and in- sufficient. One way to reduce the level of bacteria is to stimu- late the immune system to increase the proportion of mature neutrophils capable of destroying the pathogens. Nutrition is involved in maintaining immunity, and insufficient energy and other deficiencies affect the cow’s resistance and is there- fore an important part in the total mastitis prevention pro- gramme on a farm. It starts with a well-balanced diet that meets all the nutritional requirements of the cow. On top of that, the supplementation of immune modulating nutritional components can help to give the immune system a boost and help reduce SCC in lactating cows.
Reducing SCC and inflammation Safmannan, a premium yeast postbiotic (hereafter called ‘postbiotic’) is obtained from primary culture and the purification of selected Saccharomyces cerevisiae proprietary
strain. The uniqueness of this postbiotic are the beta-glucans and mannan-oligosaccharides, active components that positively modulate the immune system. Research data shows that cows supplemented with this postbiotic have increased populations of immune response inducing cells, known as T-helper cells, that initiate the immune response. This is because Safmannan has a specific surface structure thanks to its controlled production process that enables it to interact with immune cells, helping to trigger a strong and satisfactory immune response. An in vitro study on LPS- challenged macrophages, showed that the postbiotic demonstrated a strong and swift immunomodulatory effect, measured by the levels of TNF-a produced by the macrophages. In a field study in the Netherlands involving eight dairy farms, after supplementing Safmannan the SCC progressively decreased over the trial period compared to the period before the supplementation, from an average of 260,000 per farm to below 200,000 (Figure 1).
Multifactorial control programme The most important factor affecting the SCC numbers in the milk for individual quarter and consequently at herd level is mammary gland infection known as mastitis. There are many ways to work towards reducing a herd’s SCC. But because mas- titis is a multifactorial disease, prevention and controlling pro- grammes should also be multifactorial. Getting the nutrition right and adding a postbiotic or a combination of a postbiotic and a probiotic feed additive enhances the immunity and resil- ience of dairy cows to fight pathogens (including the ones that cause mastitis). This nutritional approach therefore increases the success rates of mastitis prevention programmes.
▶ ANTIBIOTIC REDUCTION | DECEMBER 2021 45
One of the best indicators to assess the risk of mastitis is somatic cell count (SCC).
PHOTO: PHILEO BY LESAFFRE
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