The effects of dry-off therapy on milk somatic cell count in Saanen goats

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of dry-off antibiotic therapy and teat sealant on somatic cell count (SCC) in Saanen goats. The goats were randomly divided into 3 groups. In Groups I (n = 50) and II (n = 50), the goats were treated with intramammary antibiotics and a combination of intramammary antibiotics and internal teat sealant at dry-off, respectively. The animals in Group III (n = 50) were designated as the control group. For the SCC analysis and bacteriological examination, milk samples (n = 900) were collected separately from each udder half during routine morning milking, prior to drying off, and at months 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of following lactation. The pretreatment prevalence of intramammary infection at dry-off was 4.7% (7/150) for halves. Isolated pathogens were coagulase-negative staphylococci (57.1%) and S. aureus (42.9%) from infected halves. Dry-off antibiotic and dry-off antibiotic with teat sealant therapy reduced milk SCC levels significantly (P < 0.01) when compared to the control group. On the other hand, the difference in SCC between dry-off antibiotic and dry-off antibiotic with teat sealant therapy groups was not statistically significant (P > 0.01). In conclusion, intramammary antibiotics administered alone and a combination of intramammary antibiotics and teat sealant reduced milk SCC levels significantly.