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Blitz therapy for the eradication of Streptococcus agalactiae infections in dairy cattle
Author(s) -
Edmondson Peter
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
in practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.211
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 2042-7689
pISSN - 0263-841X
DOI - 10.1136/inp.c7449
Subject(s) - streptococcus agalactiae , antibiotic therapy , medicine , antibiotics , mastitis , herd , intensive care medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , streptococcus , veterinary medicine , biology , pathology , bacteria , genetics
Streptococcus agalactiae responds very well to intramammary antibiotic treatment. This allows a system of ‘blitz therapy’ to be used to eliminate these infections. Blitz therapy involves antibiotic intramammary treatment into all four quarters during lactation to eradicate S agalactiae infections. Its use became popular in herds with high cell counts that were caused by S agalactiae . Cell counts have fallen significantly since the early 1980s, and the prevalence of S agalactiae and the need to employ blitz therapy has reduced. This article discusses the epidemiology, diagnosis and therapeutic options where S agalactiae is the sole or predominant cause of a high cell count. It describes how to decide whether blitz therapy is appropriate, outlines the key principles of treatment and highlights how to avoid any subsequent problems.