Effect of double-premilking teat disinfection protocols on bacterial counts on teat skin of cows and milker gloves in a free-stall-housed dairy herd.

ABSTRACT

This research communication addresses the hypothesis that double premilking teat disinfection (DD) is more effective in reducing soiling and bacterial count on the cows' teat skin and milkers' gloves than conventional disinfection (CONV). The design was a 3 × 3 Latin square (three groups of cows and three treatments) with conventional teat disinfection (CONV, lactic acid application after forestripping), double teat disinfection using the same disinfectant (DD1D, lactic acid application before and after forestripping), and double teat disinfection using two different disinfectants (DD2D, application of lactic acid before and chlorine-based disinfectant after forestripping). All groups were assigned for six days for each treatment, and the evaluations and samples were collected on the last day, before and after treatment. We evaluated the teat cleanliness score (TCS), count of Gram-negative bacteria (coliforms and noncoliforms), Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., and total bacterial count (TBC) on the cows' teats and TBC on the milkers' gloves. TCS after premilking was lower in DD than CONV treatment. The reduction of Staphylococcus spp. count was greater in the DD treatment and tended to be higher in the DD2D. The TBC reduction on the cows' teats was greater in the DD treatments. The TBC on the milkers' gloves was lower for DD before and after premilking. In conclusion, DD can be an alternative for reducing some bacterial populations on cow teats and preventing the transmission of microorganisms between cows via the milkers' hands.