As the term suggests, environmental mastitis is caused when teats become infected with types of bacteria that are commonly found in the environment.

Cases of environmental mastitis are most commonly seen around the calving period or at drying-off, however they can also occur in summer.

Although there are many bacteria in the environment only some of them readily multiply under the conditions found in the udder.

The common agents of environmental mastitis are Strep uberis and E coli. Other bacteria such as Pseudomonas and other coliforms can also cause the occasional problem. They are widespread and are found in soil, faeces and water. Despite being common, they usually only cause a problem when cows are exposed to very large numbers of bacteria at a time and the cows’ natural defence mechanisms are low.

Although the initial contamination with these bacteria tends to occur in the paddock environment, an infected cow can spread the problem by contaminating other cows at milking.

The risk of environmental mastitis is increased when cows linger in wet, muddy areas or stand in water and mud in channels, dams and watercourses. Over summer, this can happen as cows attempt to cool down– by walking into dams, congregating in shady areas (or even using each other for shade), and through management routines such as spraying the cows as they enter the shed.

Reduce the risk of bacteria from the environment causing mastitis by:

• Washing muddy udders before milking and ensuring they are dry before the cups go on

• Spraying or dipping every teat with teat disinfectant after milking

• Moving the cows so that they don’t walk through (or sit down in) muddy yards for at least 30 minutes after cups are removed

• Doing routine checks of the milking machine to keep the teat skin and teat canal as healthy as possible.

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Farm Guideline Introduction, 27.1

Keywords
Environmental mastitis, teat condition, teat disinfection

Word length
307