The effecti­veness of the use of the drug “Protymast DS” for the treatment of mastitis in heifers

Abstract

Goal. To determine the effectiveness of the treatment of subclinical mastitis in heifers with the drug “Protymast DS” for the further prevention of puerperal mastitis in firstborns. Methods. The diagnostics of subclinical mastitis in heifers was carried out with the help of clinical studies of the mammary gland (examination, palpation, test milking of the secretion with visual assessment), mastidine test, and bacteriological studies (isolation of the pathogen). Results. It was found that 10 days after injection of the anti-mastitis drug “Protymast DS” into sick heifers, the number of microorganisms in the udder secretion decreased from tens of thousands to tens or hundreds in 1 cm3; in no case were the causative agents of mastitis secreted from the secretion, and the number of somatic cells decreased by 1.4–2.1 times (p≤0.01) and amounted to 3.2±0.81 thousand/cm3. The use of the drug “Protymast DS” in the prenatal period of heifers for the treatment of subclinical mastitis helped to reduce the number of mastitis after calving by 3.5 times (p≤0.001). It was established that the main causative agent of puerperal subclinical mastitis in firstborns on the 9th day after birth was Staphylococcus aureus. Microorganisms S. aureus were isolated in 1.5% of healthy udder quarters of heifers and 3.0% of washings from the skin of dairy cows. The number of Staphylococcus aureus in the micro biocenosis of the mammary gland of firstborns increased by 1.2 times (p≤0.05), and in the micro biocenosis of the skin of dairy cows by 3.7 times (p≤0.001). Mastitis causative agents S. aureus and other coagulase-positive staphylococci were present in the micro biocenosis of cows, so attempts to get rid of staphylococcal mastitis were economically impractical and even impossible. Conclusions. The intracisternal anti-mastitis drug “Protymast DS” provides a pronounced therapeutic effect in the treatment of subclinical mastitis in heifers in the prenatal period and contributes to the reduction of puerperal mastitis in firstborns by 3.5 times.