Veterinary Treatment Approach and Antibiotic Usage for Clinical Mastitis in Danish Dairy Herds

Abstract

Danish veterinarians’ treatment approach and use of antibiotics for clinical mastitis were investigated through a web-based questionnaire. The objective of the study was to describe and evaluate how the clinical mastitis treatment practice in Danish dairy herds corresponds to evidence from the literature and legislative requirements, in order to suggest directions for improvements and approaches encouraging the prudent use of antibiotics. In total, 174 veterinarians working with cattle received the questionnaire and 85 (48.9%) completed it. Their answers suggested that the Danish treatment approach for clinical mastitis generally relies on combined systemic and intramammary antibiotic administration (92% would use this often or always) and almost always includes supportive treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (99% would use it often or always in combination with antibiotic therapy). While collecting milk samples in order to target treatment towards pathogens is a priority in the legislation and for veterinarians, the direct application seems hindered due to the waiting time with the currently used analysis practice. Consequently, 91% reported that they would start treatment immediately after clinical examination often or always. The results of this investigation show that there is a potential for improvement in targeting treatments towards the causative pathogen by encouraging methods that allow for a more rapid reliable pathogen determination. When this issue has been addressed, the available evidence on the best treatment practice of Gram-negative-caused mastitis cases can be applied properly, reducing the volume of antibiotic treatments with limited expected effect. Additionally, investigating the potential of reducing combined administration to only intramammary treatment in Gram-positive cases could be a further step towards a more prudent antibiotic strategy.

Assessment of antibiotic use patterns in bovine mastitis treatment in the dairy sector in Serbia

“…Parenteral injections and local infusion combinations enhance antibacterial efficacy (Gruet et al., 2001), promoting quicker bacterial elimination, higher survival rates, reduced inflammation, milk loss, and culling rates (Erskine et al., 2002; Pyörälä, 2009). And 92% of Danish veterinarians prefer the combination of systemic and intramammary antibiotics for clinical mastitis (Wilm et al., 2021), which is consistent with our study's 96% combined treatment rate (Figure 2).…”

“…of Danish veterinarians prefer the combination of systemic and intramammary antibiotics for clinical mastitis (Wilm et al, 2021), which is consistent with our study's 96% combined treatment rate (Figure 2).…”

“…Narrow‐spectrum antibiotics are preferred in mastitis treatment (Wilm et al., 2021) and we found Penstrep® (93%) to be the most commonly used in our study. Certainly, the number of the antibiotic classes approved for use in dairy cows belong to the critically important antibiotics for human use, such as cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, lincosamides, macrolides, and penicillins (WHO, 2019).…”

Danish cattle veterinarians' perspectives on antimicrobial use: Contextual and individual influencing factors

“…For example, the structure of veterinary practices and types of veterinary services have been found to influence veterinary AMU (Magalhães-Sant 'Ana et al, 2017), and another study identified the need for further legal restrictions in the Netherlands to limit the influence from farmers on veterinary treatment and prescribing (Speksnijder et al, 2015a). In addition, Wilm et al (2021) identified an apparent national context-dependent preference for the route of administration when treating acute mastitis (simultaneous systemic and local treatment) among Danish veterinarians, which varied from the approaches preferred by Swedish and US veterinarians, for example (Persson Waller et al, 2016;Winder et al, 2019). Treatment approaches therefore appear to be influenced by the national context.…”

Phage Endolysin LysP108 Showed Promising Antibacterial Potential Against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

“…LysP108 was highly active under a diverse range of pH and was tolerated to different temperatures. However, its optimal working concentration was 250 µg mL -1 , which was a disadvantage relative to the small dosage of most antibiotics (Wilm et al, 2021). The antibacterial activity of LysP108 was confirmed by its ability to reduce the viability of MRSA strain XN108 (Figure 2).…”