Lactation, treatment and control of Strep ag

Key Messages

• Strep ag often causes high cell counts and clinical cases in lactation

• Strep ag is usually introduced by brought-in cows

• Strep ag is spread from cow to cow at milking and is highly contagious

• Most Strep ag infections are cured by antibiotic treatment

• The key to stopping spread is strategic antibiotic use, a good milking routine, good hygiene, effective teat disinfection and optimally functioning milking machines

• With the commitment of all staff on farm, Strep ag can be eradicated from infected herds

This month's grabs

1.     Focus on Strep ag - highly contagious mastitis.

2.     Is Strep ag a cause of high cell counts in your herd?

3.     Team work to beat Strep ag mastitis.

4.     Most Strep ag infections can be cured by antibiotics.

5.     Ensure new cows don’t bring Strep ag mastitis to your herd.

6.     Characteristics of Streptococcus agalactiae infections.

The grabs are also available here as a Word file (without photos - so you will need to use the links above to access the photos).

Relevant resources for advisers

Countdown pointers to advisers

Investigations of farms with cell count or clinical mastitis problems during 2001 revealed that many were suffering from Strep ag infections.  Strep ag is highly contagious and widespread across Australia but it’s also highly controllable, provided the problem is identified and the right steps are taken.

Given that many factors contribute to the spread of Strep ag, it is not surprising that effective control requires input from a number of players, especially vets, techs and factory field officers.

Control options include full or partial blitz therapy–which can be rewarding when done successfully, but costly and worrying if problems arise.

In herds that are attempting to control and eradicate Strep ag, everyone in the farm team needs to fully understand how the bacteria spreads and the treatment plan developed for the particular herd.

Australian Dairyfarmer

Countdown’s pages in this month’s Australian Dairyfarmer include:

• Busting Strep ag with a good plan: A case study / interview re Strep ag control in Stuart Hodge’s herd, including text box containing farm profile, pull quote, and photo.

• From the Farm Guidelines: don’t buy in Strep agalactiae when you purchase cows

• Introducing the team: Sabine Suess

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