Progress in controlling mastitis in England and Wales
Booth, J.M.
Veterinary Record 122(13): 299-302
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0042-4900 PMID: 3289253 Document Number: 324262
Mastitis in England and Wales has been controlled over the past 20 years, while the average size of dairy herds has doubled to 65 cows. The incidence of clinical masitis has been reduced from approximately 120 to 150 cases per 100 cows to less than 50 cases. The limited data on the prevalence of subclinical mastitis indicate that it has been reduced from over 50% of cows infected to less than half this level. The application of the major mastitis control measures on the farm doubled over the period 1973 to 1983 and had reached 66-90% for individual measures by 1983. The national mean cell count in milk decreased from 573 000 to 352 000 cells/ml between 1971 and 1986, and the proportion of herds having annual mean cell counts below 300 000 cells/ml has increased from 15.7 to 40.7% in the last eight years.