Use of a staphylococcal vaccine to reduce prevalence of mastitis and lower somatic cell counts in a registered Saanen dairy goat herd.
This investigation evaluated the efficacy of a bacterin in reducing the prevalence of staphylococcal mastitis and somatic cell counts (SCC) in a dairy goat herd. Does were vaccinated or left as controls, and the levels of mastitis and SCC monitored over 18 months. Staphylococcus caprae (42.5%), S. xylosus (15.1%), and S. simulans (10.0%) were the predominant causes of intramammary infections (IMI). The infection rate was 1.64 IMI/doe among vaccinates, which tended to be lower (P < 0.12) than controls (2.67 IMI/doe). The spontaneous cure rate of IMI after immunization was 1.28 cures/doe in vaccinates, which was higher than controls (0.6 cures/doe; P < 0.043). Average SCC of milk samples from vaccinates tended to be lower than that of controls (1274 × 10(3)/ml vs. 1529 × 10(3)/ml, respectively) (P < 0.10). Results support the continued study of mastitis vaccines for use in managing staphylococcal mastitis and SCC in dairy goats.
Department of Animal and Dairy Science, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
F M
FM
Kautz
Department of Animal and Dairy Science, Athens, GA 30602, USA. Electronic address: scn@uga.edu.
S C
SC
Nickerson
Department of Animal and Dairy Science, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
L O
LO
Ely
D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D003612:Dairying; D005260:Female; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006041:Goats / Q000382:microbiology*; D008413:Mastitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D015995:Prevalence; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary; D013209:Staphylococcal Vaccines / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000276:immunology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014611:Vaccination / Q000662:veterinary
D013209:Staphylococcal Vaccines
Dairy goat; Mastitis; Somatic cell count; Vaccination