Postmilking Teat Dip Research Articles

Evaluation of Linear Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonic Acid as a Teat Dip in a Commercial Dairy

A postmilking teat dip containing 1.94% linear dodecyl benzene sulfonic acid1 was evaluated for approximately 6 mo on a commercial dairy farm that milked an average of 75 cows. Sixteen Staphylococcus aureus infections were diagnosed, 12 in the undipped control quarters and 4 in the dipped. Incidence of intramammary infection with Staphylococcus aureus was reduced 68.1%. Seventy-five infections were diagnosed as micrococci, 42 in control and 33 in the dipped group, a 23.6% reduction. A total of 37 Corynebacterium sp. infections were diagnosed, 21 and 16 in control and dipped groups, a 25.8% reduction. Teat skin condition did not change during the study.

Evaluation of Nine Teat Dip Formulation Under Experimental Challenge to Staphylococcus Aureus and Streptococcus Agalactiae

Nine postmilking teat dips were evaluated by an experimental challenge model against either Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, or both. Formulations containing .9 and .6% sodium hypochlorite, 1% sodium dichloro-s-triazene-trione, .55% chlorhexidine gluconate, and .35% povidone iodine reduced incidence of Staphylococcus aureus infections 56.8, 28.3, 75.9, 92.5, and 77.9%. Incidence of infections with Streptococcus agalactiae was reduced 48.1 and 63.2% by 1.7 and 1% sodium dichloro-s-triazene-trione formulations. The 1% chlorhexidine gluconate and .35% povidone iodine products reduced Streptococcus agalactiae infections 71.0 and 67.0%. Three experimental 1% iodophor formulations reduced Streptococcus agalactiae infections 28.9, 44.8, and 50.7%. The experimental challenge model was refined further and provided an efficient method to determine efficacy of post-milking teat dips.

Efficacy of Low Concentration Iodophor Teat Dips Against Staphylococcus Aureus

Four teat dips formulated at different concentrations of iodine were evaluated by experimental challenge with Staphylococcus aureus (Newbould 305). Teat dip, iodine contents, and efficacies were: 1) .1, .3, and .5%; 73.0, 70.8, and 74.9%; 2) .25 and .5%; 55.8 and 64.6%; 3) .1 and .5%; 74.8 and 70.0%; and 4) .05, .1, .25, and 1.0%; 79.5, 82.6, 80.7, and 94.4%. Products with low concentration iodine were highly effective in reducing incidence of Staphylococcus aureus infections with no significant differences within formulation from iodine content. The experimental challenge model provided an efficient method for evaluating efficacy of postmilking teat dips.

Effect of a disinfectant udder wash and a post-milking teat dip on the bacterial population of the teat end and on the rate of new intramammary infection

A pre-milking wash disinfectant procedure employing a 2% (w/v) chlorhexidine solution in a detergent basic did not reduce the rate of new intramammary infection in a lactating herd challenged with Staphylococcus aureus. Teat-end swabs showed no significant difference in the number of Staph. aureus isolated from the teat-ends pre-washed with either water, or water and chlorhexidine. In contrast, disinfecting teats after milking with a solution containing 5000 mg available iodine/l significantly reduced the staphylococcal population of the teat-ends and the rate of new intramammary infection, compared with teats not disinfected.

Effect of vacuum fluctuation during milking on the development of intramammary infection from teat duct colonization by Staphylococcus aureus.

Twelve of twenty-one udder quarters with colonized teat ducts became infected within 13 d when milked with a machine producing large cyclic and irregular vacuum fluctuations in the teatcup; of 23 quarters milked under the same conditions, but with metal shields fitted inside the liners to protect the teat apex (Thiel, 1974), only 2 quarters became infected in the same period. The introduction of a post-milking teat disinfectant teat dip resulted in the elimination of orifice colonization from 15 teats dipped in Na hypochlorite solution (40 g/l available chlorine) and from all but 2 of 15 teats dipped in an iodophor solution (5 g/l available iodine).

Postmilking Teat Dipping in a Herd of Low Infection Incidence

A commercial teat dipping preparation formulated to have good detergence and emollience but no germicidal activity and a commercial iodophor teat dip of 1% available iodine were tested sequentially for efficacy in preventing new intramammary infection. Teats on one side of the udder of 150 Jersey cows were dipped in the test material after each milking; the opposite teats were undipped controls. Duration of the trials was 12 months for the detergent-emollient dip and 8 months for the iodophor dip. Intramammary infection was determined by bacteriological evaluation of monthly quarter foremilk samples. Neither dip was associated with reduction in new infection rate. Possibly because of its low level of total infection and of Staphylococcus aureus and its lack of Streptococcus agalactiae, this herd was unable to demonstrate prophylaxis against intramammary infection by postmilking teat dipping and was unsuitable for testing efficacy of the tested products.

Effect of the Postmilking Teat Dip “Bovadine” on the Incidence of Staphylococcus aureus and Mastitis

The University milking dairy herd was divided into two groups according to breed. Diagonally opposite teats of each cow were dipped with “Bovadine” after each milking. The remaining two teats served as controls. The Wisconsin Catalase Test, Wisconsin Mastitis Test, and Direct Microscopic Somatic Cell Count were used to detect incidence of mastitis in composite samples from dipped and control teats. Samples of milk were plated on Baird-Parker Agar to detect staphlococci. The postmilking teat dip caused a 31.4% reduction in new cases of mastitis and 42.3% reduction in staphylococcal infections during the 19 months of the study. The teat dip caused a reduction in new cases of staphylococcal infections and in number of quarters infected with mastitis; however, these reductions were non-significant. The WMT had the highest correlation when compared with all the other tests used to detect mastitis. Results indicated that the WMT would be the best single test to use to detect cows with mastitis.

The Effect of a Post-Milking Teat Dip on the Iodine Concentration of Bulk Herd Milk

The Effect of a Post-Milking Teat Dip on the Iodine Concentration of Bulk Herd Milk

THE EFFECT OF THE TEAT DIP “BOVADINE” ON SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF STAPHYLOCOCCI ISOLATED FROM THE BOVINE UDDER

The effect of “Bovadine,” a post milking teat dip, on characteristics associated with staphylococci isolated from cows was determined. Comparisons were made between various characteristics of isolates obtained from foremilk samples from teats treated with Bovadine and those obtained from untreated teats. A significantly (P<.05) greater number of isolates obtained from untreated teats produced coagulase, lysozyme, and phosphatase than did isolates from Bovadine treated teats. In contrast, more isolates from treated teats produced gelatinase and protease and utilized glucose and mannitol anaerobically than did those from untreated teats. These results suggest that Bovadine, when used as teat dip, may alter some of the characteristics used to identify staphylococci.

Effectiveness of Postmilking Teat Dips

Two experimental approaches were used to estimate the relative efficacy of three germicidal preparations as postmilking teat dips. In successive trials of 17 and 7 months, chlorhexidine (.2%) and a commercial iodophor (1% available iodine) each reduced the overall new intramammary infection to 4 to 5 per hundred cows per month. Compared to the incidence among control cows, reductions due to teat dipping were 81 and 90% for staphylococci, 80 and 0% for streptococci (chiefly S. uberis), and 0% for coliforms and Pseudomonas species.In short trials of the chlorhexidine, the iodophor, a hypochlorite (4% available chlorine), and tap water, we evaluated change in magnitude of the natural staphylococcal population recoverable from apical teat skin by swabbing. Reductions of 95, 87, and 67% were achieved with the respective germicides. Results from tap water were erratic but indicated a small reduction in microflora.Efficacy was examined in relation to the number of cows previously dipped with the portion of dip solution during a single milking. There was no evidence of a reduction in germicidal activity through use of chlorhexidine on 22 cows, iodophor on 19 cows, or hypochlorite on 11 cows.

Effectiveness of a Post-milking Teat Dip in Preventing New Udder Infections

A 13-month study was conducted in two herds with a combined average of 125 milking cows to determine the effectiveness of a post-milking teat dip in reducing the incidence of new infections. Teats on the right side were dipped in a commercial iodine teat dip preparation (10,000ppm) immediately after each milking and teats on the left side were controls.There were 36 new infections during lactation on the dipped side and 77 on the control side, a 53.2% reduction. The teat dip was effective in preventing new infections with streptococci and Staphylococcus aureus but did not appear to prevent new infections with gram-negative rods. The teat dip also reduced the number of clinical treatments 24%. However, it was not effective in preventing new infections during the dry period.The percentage of infected quarters on the dipped side was reduced from an initial 32 to 23% at the end of the trial whereas the incidence in the control quarters increased from 27 to 30% at the end. The progress in reducing the incidence of infected quarters was slow because of the high initial incidence of infection.

Effectiveness of Chlorhexidine in a Postmilking Teat Dip

Chlorhexidine used at 0.2% in an aqueous dip for cows’ teats immediately after each milking reduced the resident microflora on the apical teat skin by about 95%. The skin microflora was evaluated as gram-positive cocci culturable on Staphylococcus Medium 110 from a standardized swabbing of washed teats. As so measured, the microbial population of untreated apical skin of a given teat is quite stable at a magnitude characteristic of the individual teat.The chlorhexidine dip was used in the same manner to sanitize half-udders of 12 cows against exposure of the entire udders to Staphylococcus aureus applied at each milking through contamination of the milking machine teat cups. During 31 weeks of such challenge, nine new gland infections appeared among the undipped quarters with a mean-day of onset of 97, whereas there were three new infections among the dipped quarters with a mean-day of onset of 153.