What is mastitis?And how to prevent it
Mastitis in Dairy Cows: Detect, Treat & Prevent for a Healthier Herd
Introduction
Mastitis is the most widespread udder disease in modern dairy farming. By inflaming the mammary gland it lowers milk quality, reduces yield and threatens the welfare of every cow. Even a single untreated case can escalate into a high cell count, hyperkeratosis at the teat end and significant financial loss.
On this page you’ll learn:
- What mastitis is
- How to spot the very first symptoms
- Which treatment options exist
- Proven prevention tactics that keep your herd healthy and productive
Eager to jump straight to the best solutions—and the most common challenges to overcome? Click on the button below
What Is Mastitis?
Mastitis is an inflammation of the udder tissue, usually triggered when bacteria enter the teat canal. Once inside, pathogens multiply rapidly, damaging milk-producing cells and provoking the cow’s immune system. The battle between bacteria and leukocytes releases enzymes that raise Somatic Cell Count (SCC)—the main indicator of a high cell count. If irritation persists the teat skin often develops hyperkeratosis (thickened callus around the teat orifice), creating an even bigger gateway for infection.
Understanding the Bigger Picture
Mastitis is not only the most common disease in dairy cows—it’s also one of the most expensive. The consequences go beyond milk loss and treatment costs: long-term inflammation weakens teat condition, increases the risk of chronic cases, and shortens the productive life of the cow.
That’s why early detection and prevention are key. Subtle signs such as a slight drop in milk yield, raised SCC levels, or early signs of hyperkeratosis often indicate an underlying problem. At AktivPULS, we believe that proper milking starts with the right equipment—liners that protect the teat, promote even vacuum distribution, and prevent damage at the teat orifice.
By improving liner design and focusing on teat-end condition, it’s possible to reduce both the incidence and severity of mastitis. The result? Healthier cows, higher milk quality, and more efficient milking.
How to Detect Mastitis Early
Visual & Physical Checks
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Swollen or hard quarter
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Heat or pain on touch
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Watery, flaky or clotted milk
Cow-Side Tests
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California Mastitis Test (CMT): Instant, low-cost SCC estimate. Also independent to every quarter.
- Collect milk from individual quarters
- Pour off excess milk
- Add an equal amount of the CMT working solution
- Gently rotate the paddle in horizontal position and record the results enclosed in the chart
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Electrical conductivity sensors: Built into many parlours and robots; an early warning for salt imbalance caused by infection.
Lab Analysis
Sending composite or quarter samples for SCC counts pinpoints sub-clinical cases—those invisible infections that silently raise your bulk-tank high cell count.
Tip: Track teat-end condition. Rough teat ends or visible hyperkeratosis often predict rising mastitis symptoms weeks before SCC spikes. If you want to know more about hyperkeratosis, see our other webpage to gain more information.
Mastitis treatment
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Antibiotics:
- Intramammary infusions: Antibiotics are infused directly into the affected quarter through the teat canal.
- Systemic antibiotics: Injected antibiotics may be necessary in severe cases to treat bacteremia or when multiple quarters are affected.
- Duration: Treatment should continue until clinical signs resolve and milk somatic cell count returns to normal. Staphylococcus aureus infections often require longer treatment durations (5-8 days).
- Evidence-based: Treatment protocols should be based on scientific studies and veterinary advice.
- Selective dry cow therapy: Using antibiotics only on quarters that are infected during the dry period can help reduce overall antibiotic use.
- Intramammary infusions: Antibiotics are infused directly into the affected quarter through the teat canal.
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Milk Removal:
- Frequent milking: Removing milk from the affected quarter(s) can help reduce bacterial load and inflammation.
- Frequent milking: Removing milk from the affected quarter(s) can help reduce bacterial load and inflammation.
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Non-antibiotic approaches:
- Oxytocin: Can help with milk letdown and removal of infected milk, but relapse rates can be high.
- NSAIDs: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can help manage inflammation and pain associated with mastitis, particularly in cases caused by gram-negative bacteria.
- Oxytocin: Can help with milk letdown and removal of infected milk, but relapse rates can be high.
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Culling:
In chronic cases of mastitis, especially those caused by Staphylococcus aureus, culling the affected cow may be considered. Do this to prevent cross-contamination to the rest of the herd.
Controlling High Cell Count &
Preventing Mastitis
A frequently ask question is: How to prevent mastitis? The bullet points below cut straight to the answer—quick, high-impact actions in milking hygiene, housing and dry-period care that can help prevent a high cell counts, overcome hyperkeratosis and keep milk flowing.
Milking Hygiene
- Pre-dip with a proven disinfectant and post-dip within 30 seconds after cluster removal; this quick routine blocks most bacteria.
- Check that teats are dry after milking; dry skin lets the post-dip work better and vented liners help achieve it.
- Choose soft, vented liners like our AktivPULS liners, to reduce teat-end stress and curb hyperkeratosis. Their unique 45° bottom angle prevents over-vacuuming for safer, faster milking.
- Choose the right liner size for your herd; liners that are too tight pinch teats and this will result in slower milk flow. Using liners for robotic milking (AMS) or liners for milking parlour is always different.
- Replace liners on schedule (or sooner if worn) to avoid cracks where germs/bacteria can hide.
Housing & Environment
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Keep cubicles dry and well-bedded.
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Scrape alleys and feed areas regularly to cut bacterial load.
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Provide enough lying space; cows that stand too long risk teat canal exposure.
Dry-Period Management
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Seal teats with an internal teat sealant.
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Treat high-risk cows with targeted dry-cow antibiotic therapy.
Nutrition & Immunity
Balanced energy, minerals and vitamins (especially selenium and vitamin E) enhance the cow’s natural defence against mastitis symptoms.
Common challenges:
- Milking Hygiene
- Housing & Environment
- Dry-Period Management
- Nutrition & Immunity
"Tobias van Korven – Director"
Milking with ™AktivPULS has offered many dairy farmers a solution to overcome hyperkeratosis and achieve greater efficiency with both robotic and traditional milking. I am happy to be able to make such a difference in this particular industry. If you have experience with the ™AktivPULS way of natural milking, please let us know via our contact button! Your response may be added to our list of testimonials!
"Henry Molenaar"
These nipple liners brought me two things. One is an improvement in those teat ends. With dry-off it's searching for the teat holes. But also importantly, a very big piece of improvement in milk speed. I found changing liner quite exciting. After all, I went from rubber to silicone. But the somatic cell count results, they went down from 170 to 63. I am very happy with that. What I am also very pleased with is the interval of changing. With rubber, I was at 2,500. Now it is every 10,000. That still saves a lot of work. After 2.5 years of milking with AktivPULS, I will definitely not go back to another type of liner.
De Bladelse Hoef
"80% less hyperkeratosis and 20% less mastitis"
In August, we started milking with AktivPuls. During the trial period, we only changed the liners. Before the trial, practically 80% of our cows showed signs of teat-end hyperkeratosis, 20% of which was of the 4th degree. Currently, there are no cases of hyperkeratosis in the entire herd. Previously, we had 40 to 50 cows showing signs of clinical mastitis, but now we have a maximum of 10. Subclinical mastitis has decreased from 20-25% to 3-4%.
SPK Zhdanovskiy