Innovation

Mastitis remains the single most challenging infectious disease faced by dairy farmers across the world. Producers and herd managers rely on a series of approaches to control and treat mastitis, including genetic selection, environmental management, nutrition, and selective dry cow therapy. In combination with strict hygiene protocol and other treatments, such as the use of teat sealants, headway can be made. Yet, mastitis persists. For the most part, veterinarians and dairy farmers have relied on antibiotics to treat mastitis. While they do work, they do not repair the tissue damage caused by infection, which can lead to abnormal and decreased milk production. Amid rising resistance to antibiotics, it is ever more important to find new and novel solutions for treatment.