British Cattle Veterinary Association

Mastitis is one of the most common and most costly diseases affecting dairy cattle. Many cases of both clinical and sub-clinical mastitis are treated without any knowledge of the causative agent. This mastitis investigation scheme sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim was aimed at identifying the predominant bacteria causing clinical and sub-clinical mastitis in herds in UK and Ireland with a particular emphasis on helping herds with Streptococcus uberis problems. A detailed submission form was used as part of the scheme to glean information about the farm enterprise in order to help tailor the report and advice. The paper gives detail of the data collected via the submission form as well as the results of the bacteriological examination of 4,625 milk samples.