Contagious mastitis mainly causes subclinical infection resulting in raised somatic cell counts. Cell counts are measured in hundreds of thousands and a cell count of 200,000/ml is commonly referred to as 200. High cell counts are undesirable as they have significant negative effects on milk quality, shelf life and manufacturing yield. Farmers are penalised for producing high cell count milk and most dairies require milk to have a cell count of under 200 to 250 to avoid any penalty.
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