Comparison of success of antibiotic therapy during lactation and results of antimicrobial susceptibility tests for bovine mastitis.

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was conducted on a variety of mastitis pathogens. The infected quarters were subsequently treated during lactation with a commercially available product containing penicillin and novobiocin that was designed for lactating cows. Cows were treated as per the recommendations of the product manufacturer, and cures were determined by the absence of bacteria in both sets of duplicate quarter milk samples that were collected at 28 d posttreatment. Comparisons were made between the susceptibility of the bacteria and the therapeutic success or failure. All isolates tested were considered to be susceptible to the penicillin and novobiocin combination. Bacteriologic cure rates for newly acquired Staphylococcus aureus intramammary infection (IMI) (< 2 wk in duration) at 28 d posttreatment were 70%. Cure rates for chronic Staph. aureus IMI (> 4 wk duration) were much lower (35%), reaffirming previous reports of the intractable nature of chronic Staph. aureus IMI. Cure rates for subclinical IMI caused by other organisms were 90% for Streptococcus agalactiae, 91% for Streptococcus uberis, 90% for Streptococcus dysgalactiae, 77% for other Streptococcus spp., and 71% for Staphylococcus spp. other than Staph. aureus. In vitro testing was considered to be a predictor of therapy outcome for IMI caused by Staphylococcus spp., newly acquired Staph. aureus, Strep. uberis, Strep. dysgalactiae, and Strep. agalactiae, but was not considered to be a useful predictor of efficacy for chronic IMI caused by Staph. aureus.

Determination of milk and mammary tissue concentrations of ceftiofur after intramammary and intramuscular therapy.

Twenty-five Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from bovine mastitis were tested for their susceptibility to ceftiofur. Zone diameter for 30 micrograms disks averaged 39 mm, and minimum inhibitory concentrations ranged from .5 to 1 microgram/ml. Tissue and milk concentrations were determined from biopsy and quarter milk samples collected from eight cows treated with either intramammary infusion of 100 or 200 mg of ceftiofur, one or two intramuscular injections of 500 mg of ceftiofur, or combination therapy of intramammary infusion coupled with intramuscular injection. Three additional cows received two intramammary infusions of 200 mg of cephapirin at 24-h intervals. Intramuscular injections of ceftiofur resulted in tissue and milk concentrations below detectable limits. Staphylococcus aureus was not eliminated from infected mammary glands by infusion of 100 mg of ceftiofur or by injection of 500 mg of ceftiofur by 48 h after treatment. Combination therapy of 100 mg of ceftiofur infused and 500 mg injected reduced S. aureus numbers in milk and tissue markedly, as did infusion of 200 mg of ceftiofur. Cows receiving intramammary infusion of 200 mg of ceftiofur (two doses at 24-h intervals) had highest concentrations in milk (450 micrograms/ml at 4 and 6 h) and in tissue (.08 microgram/mg at 30 h). These concentrations are similar to those obtained with two 200-mg doses of cephapirin at 24-h intervals. Histologic analysis of mammary parenchymal tissues showed that combination therapy resulted in higher percentages of alveolar luminal area and lower percentages of interalveolar stroma compared with infusion or injection alone. Histology of quarters receiving combination therapy was not different from that of quarters receiving cephapirin infusion alone.