Intervet reports that a clinical trial of 489 cows on dairy farms in the south west last spring and summer has demonstrated some excellent efficacy levels for treating and preventing intramammary infections in the dry period and early lactation.

The trial compared Cephaguard® DC and a 600mg cloxacillin dry cow tube (OEDC) on its own, and in combination with a teat sealant. Cephaguard DC demonstrated superior efficacy in terms of infection prevention during and after the dry period relative to cloxacillin alone, and was statistically equal to the combination treatment group.

Indeed, cows treated with cefquinome (Cephaguard DC) were around half as likely to develop mastitis in the first 100 days post calving than those treated with cloxacillin alone.

The trial also demonstrated excellent efficacy levels against existing Strep. uberis infections when compared with cloxacillin (see table).

DRY PERIOD CURE RATES (%) OF KEY MASTITIS PATHOGENS

Intervet’s large animal veterinary adviser Rosemary Booth said: "With Intervet’s Cephaguard bacteriology scheme showing that Strep. uberis is responsible for 18% of high cell counts and 23% of clinical cases, the dry period offers a fantastic time to treat this persistent pathogen." 

She added: "Several weeks of exposure to an effective dry cow antibiotic provides a particularly good opportunity to kill the cow-adapted strain of Strep. uberis. It lives quite happily in the udder and is tougher and harder to kill than the environmental strain."

The cloxacillin-treated group was significantly more likely to develop clinical mastitis compared to the cefquinome-treated group, as is shown in the table below:

First quarter clinical mastitis cases up to 100 days post calving in quarters not sampled in transition

According to Intervet, the study results suggest that reviewing dry cow therapy this summer, and moving to a cefquinome-based treatment may help reduce the incidence of mastitis.  Further information on the study will be presented at the Large Herd Seminar on 30 June 2008 and is available from Intervet.

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