TESTING THE EFFICIENCY OF DIFFERENT TREATMENTS OF SUBCLINICAL STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS MASTITIS IN COWS DURING THE DRY PERIOD

Mastitis is still the most common disorder which is present in diary cows. Changes in genetics, nutrition and milking equipment affect the incidence of subclinical and clinical forms of mastitis. Staphylococcus aureus is the causative agent of subclinical and clinical forms of mastitis. In the acute form it can cause malignant mastitis in the form of granulomatous and necrotic changes. Chronic forms of staphylococcal mastitis often develop as subclinical changes. Halting the entrance, the colonization and replication of the pathogen into the udder impose the constant need for regular milk controls and preventive and therapeutic measures in order to decrease the incidence of mastitis. A modern approach in the eradication and control of mastitis is immunoprophilaxis, aimed towards the innovation of new vaccines against the most common causes of mastitis. In this study we have applied the vaccine prepared with S. aureus isolated from milk taken from the experimental farm and the referent capsular strain. The vaccine was applied twice two months before calving in a dose of 5mL. The vaccine contained inactivated S. aureus JR3 bacterial cells in a quantity of 1 x 1010 cfu/mL and 5 mg SM capsule S. aureus 2286 strain. After vaccination of cows in late pregnancy, subclinical mastitis appears at a smaller frequency compared to the three experimental groups. To the first group of cows the antibiotic was applied intramammary, to the second group antibiotics were applied parenterally and intramammary and the third group served as the untreated control.