title: Economic comparison of common treatment protocols and J5 vaccination for clinical mastitis in dairy herds using optimized culling decisions.
abstract: This study used an existing dynamic optimization model to compare costs of common treatment protocols and J5 vaccination for clinical mastitis in US dairy herds. Clinical mastitis is an infection of the mammary gland causing major economic losses in dairy herds due to reduced milk production, reduced conception, and increased risk of mortality and culling for infected cows. Treatment protocols were developed to reflect common practices in dairy herds. These included targeted therapy following pathogen identification, and therapy without pathogen identification using a broad-spectrum antimicrobial or treating with the cheapest treatment option. The cost-benefit of J5 vaccination was also estimated. Effects of treatment were accounted for as changes in treatment costs, milk loss due to mastitis, milk discarded due to treatment, and mortality. Following ineffective treatments, secondary decisions included extending the current treatment, alternative treatment, discontinuing treatment, and pathogen identification followed by recommended treatment. Average net returns for treatment protocols and vaccination were generated using an existing dynamic programming model. This model incorporates cow and pathogen characteristics to optimize management decisions to treat, inseminate, or cull cows. Of the treatment protocols where 100% of cows received recommended treatment, pathogen-specific identification followed by recommended therapy yielded the highest average net returns per cow per year. Out of all treatment scenarios, the highest net returns were achieved with selecting the cheapest treatment option and discontinuing treatment, or alternate treatment with a similar spectrum therapy; however, this may not account for the full consequences of giving nonrecommended therapies to cows with clinical mastitis. Vaccination increased average net returns in all scenarios.
authors.affiliation: Section of Epidemiology, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. Electronic address: jocelyn.kessels@uq.net.au.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kessels
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, K-221 Mossier Hall, Manhattan 66506-5802.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.affiliation: Section of Epidemiology, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Quality Milk Production Services, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
authors.forename: F L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Welcome
authors.affiliation: Department of Large Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Grønnegårdsvej 2, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Kristensen
authors.affiliation: Section of Epidemiology, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
authors.forename: Y T
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Gröhn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003612:Dairying; D005260:Female; D008413:Mastitis; D008414:Mastitis, Bovine / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008892:Milk / Q000191:economics; D014611:Vaccination / Q000662:veterinary
keywords: clinical mastitis; dairy cow; dynamic programming; economic