Hazell Mullins: How to treat toxic mastitis, known as 'The Felon' by some farmers
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I mentioned the dreaded E.coli mastitis in my recent article on AMR, and like clockwork I was called to a case last week. It's almost like when your phone listens to you and sends you targeted ads.
It is known also as toxic mastitis and colloquially in east Ulster as “The Felon”, a very appropriate name for such a serious infection. As it's antibiotic awareness week, it's interesting that antibiotics are ranked down the scale of importance when treating E.coli mastitis.
My standard treatment approach to an E.coli mastitis case is always lots of fluids, anti-inflammatories, and antibiotics. Commonly seen in freshly calved cows, however, with many cows still lactating and cows that are now housed or housed by night, it is also a risk period for E.coli mastitis.
It is classed as an environmental mastitis, as E.coli originates from faecal contamination of the cow's environment. It enters the teat end and colonises the udder causing acute illness. E-coli is classed as an environmental mastitis and it won’t come as a surprise that good hygiene plays a vital role in prevention.
It starts in the dry cow cubicles, making sure to not let standards drop as the spring rolls on, keep liming the cubicles twice a day and make sure that the beds are scraped.
Bacteria can lay dormant in the udder until calving and research has shown that up to 30 days after calving the source of infection could have originated in the dry period.
It is due to endotoxin release from the exposed bacterial cell wall as the cow’s immune system destroys the bacteria. A heightened immune response in the cow that is pro-inflammatory, induces endotoxic shock. The reaction can cause kidney failure, and circulation failure and affect platelet function which can have fatal consequences which make this type of mastitis an emergency.
Ecoli mastitis can have different variations in colour and consistency, however, for me any mastitis that causes a cow to be off form and off her food is something to be concerned about and vet advice is required urgently. Her low temperature is contradictory to what you would think a cow would have with a bacterial infection but again the toxins cause a shock response which can lower a cow’s core temperature.
To counteract this shock mechanism in the cow, anti-inflammatories are a necessity as are fluids and antibiotics are the least vital component of treatment. However, they are still needed to prevent bacterial spread to the bloodstream.
There are many ways to rehydrate the cow that are used by vets, I always use a hypertonic drip which is a 7.2% saline solution that I administer IV. Then I follow up with 30-40 litres of water pumped orally using my favourite piece of kit, my aggers stomach pump.
It is also essential to remove as much of the toxins from the udder as possible, I always tell the farmer to strip the quarter as many times in the day as they can manage, it's worth the time and effort.
In this week's case in the milking cow, the cause is unknown as to why this cow got E.coli in late lactation, perhaps lying down too quickly after milking before the teat ends close could be a risk, or not lying in cubicles.
Any risk factor that lowers immunity and increases exposure to E.coli in the environment could be a deadly combination to cause infection. Interestingly if a cow has sub-clinical or clinical milk fever teat ends do not close as efficiently as they should and this allows the E.coli enter into the udder.
Pre-dipping before milking can help reduce environmental mastitis spread in the herd at this time of year, not only reducing E.coli mastitis risk but also for other environmental mastitic causes like Strep Uberis and Klebsiella.
Making sure to have scrapers on regularly at least six times a day during full housing is key to keeping manure levels low on feet which in turn will keep beds cleaner and reduce the risk of infection. Don't forget to scrape the areas like passageways and around water troughs also.
I will once again jump on my soapbox, advocating for twice-a-day liming of cubicles as a key preventive step for all environmental causes of mastitis for both milking and dry cows.
Always call your vet if you have any suspicion of a cow with E-Coli mastitis, time is a huge factor in prognosis.
This week not only marks AMR awareness week but also the end of my year as President of Veterinary Ireland with our AGM annual dinner. I cannot believe it has been a whole year already.
It was an absolute honour to represent the organisation, with both highs and lows, it was the experience of a lifetime in which I have grown both professionally and personally.
Thank you to my wonderful friends and family for their continued support. Wishing Dr Jane Piggot from Millstreet Veterinary Hospital and Flow Cardiology all the best in her new role as President of Veterinary Ireland for 2024/2025.
