Diego B. Nobrega working on antimicrobial use and resistance in Canadian dairy herds

Dr Greg Keefe is Dean at the Atlantic Veterinary College, Prince Edward Island, Canada. M2 magazine asked Dr Keefe about his education, his work at the University and at the Canadian Bovine Mastitis Research and Milk Quality Network; and about life outside of academia.

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.

In the early 1990ies, when I was a young veterinary student, an eminent professor from a distinguished veterinary school gave several undergraduate courses on herd health and production management at …