Dryoff Debrief

105,785 tubes of teat sealant have gone out the door at FVM this year. This is a record-breaking number for our clinic, and we want to thank you for trusting us to dry off your cows/heifers. Our clinical teatsealing team consists of vets, vet techs and casual techs all of which have been suited up with headtorches, cuffs and pouches. We have pushed in tubes for a grand total of 946 hours. It’s been a busy season, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Although we have strict staff training and hygiene measures, there remains a risk of mastitis. Out of the 26,446 cows that have been dried off this season, there have been a handful of mastitis cases post dry off so let’s answer some commonly asked questions.

Why are we seeing mastitis cases?

When we see mastitis after dry-off, the origin of the infection can be traced back to three time periods which are

1) Pre dry off , 2) During dry-off and 3) Post dry-off .

What type of mastitis did we culture upon further investigation?

• Staph aureus – contagious bacteria that was likely present prior to dryof

• Strep uberis – environmental bacteria  

Summary:

• The majority of severe mastitis cases a couple of days after dryoff cultured Staph aureus, so was likely present prior to dryoff

  • Exacerbated by high milk volume at dryoff

• Strep uberis was cultured on cases 4 days or later after dryoff, and was generally associated with leaking milk and therefore introduction on environmental bacteria.

If you do see any cases of mastitis post dry off, please do not hesitate to contact the clinic. We are more than happy to provide you with the best advice for treatment as well as undergo further investigations to determine the cause of the mastitis.