OK dairy folks. I'm looking for some comments here. I haven't been able to come up with a CURE for a staph cow. Cure as based on culture results and clinical signs. I'm having them come back after being dried off, entering the next lactation and still being infected. We've treated lactating cows and dry cows. Lactating ones will be temporarily cleared and then return a few days to a few weeks after coming off antibiotics. Several different treatments (I'll get to that in a minute) and no success.
Anyone know of any cures for staph infections?
So, I've treated lactating cows with Pirsue as suggested by my vet. His thoughts are Pirsue is the best for staph. We've treated with heavy doses (2 tubes/quarter/milking or per day) for short periods of time, we've treated for long stretches (8 days on 1 tube/quarter/day), and every single lactating cow we've treated has come back with staph within a few weeks after coming off antibiotics. Same quarter.
This is based on culture results prior to treatment and/or after coming off treatment or after the infection surfaces again as clinical mastitis.
There was ONE cow that had an infection in one quarter that we promptly caught and treated at one tube/quarter/day for 3 consecutive days and the infection has not come back...I suspect staph based on the culture result in a different quarter on the same cow, but we did not run a culture on the cured quarter prior to treatment.
Most lactating cows had had (clinical) infections for short periods of time (a week? maybe two) before beginning treatment, but not long enough that I would call them chronic. Most were following a cold snap which left several cows with frostbitten teats.
We've dry treated cows with heavy doses of cephipirin benazthine (Tomorrow/Cefa-Dri), dry treated with Nolvasan (chlorhexidine hydrochloride) suspension which my vet claimed works wonders - it hasn't yet.
The dry cows are getting 25-70 days dry. Former was an accident.
We have not tried Quartermaster as it's not exactly labeled for staph. Haven't tried Driclox yet. (Anyone used that?)
Teats are sealed with Stronghold following administration of dry treatment.
We've tried throwing up our hands in despair over cows that are evaluated mid-dry time and have one quarter swollen big as a grapefruit. We've taken those cows, stripped the quarter, and said "you've had your chance". We've tried killing the quarter with chlorhexidine disinfectant.
Shucks, I can't seem to get the quarter to DIE on cow #120! She's been hit 3 times with 60cc's at 24 hour intervals. 3 weeks later the quarter is still heavily infected and shows no signs of shrinkage.
It doesn't help that she's bagging up and getting ready to begin her 3rd lactation. :roll:
I've loaded one cow up systemically with LA200 at dry off in conjunction with everything else. No such luck - she's still infected.
I had one cow calve this morning that was cultured as having staph prior to dry off. We gave her Nolvasan + cephipirin and I'm anxiously waiting to see if she's clean or not. She went down with milk fever today and I didn't milk her this morning or this afternoon.
Hopefully she's at least clinically clean when I milk her tomorrow. *fingers crossed*
Anyone have any thoughts...comments...advice? :help:
Anyone know of any cures for staph infections?
So, I've treated lactating cows with Pirsue as suggested by my vet. His thoughts are Pirsue is the best for staph. We've treated with heavy doses (2 tubes/quarter/milking or per day) for short periods of time, we've treated for long stretches (8 days on 1 tube/quarter/day), and every single lactating cow we've treated has come back with staph within a few weeks after coming off antibiotics. Same quarter.
This is based on culture results prior to treatment and/or after coming off treatment or after the infection surfaces again as clinical mastitis.
There was ONE cow that had an infection in one quarter that we promptly caught and treated at one tube/quarter/day for 3 consecutive days and the infection has not come back...I suspect staph based on the culture result in a different quarter on the same cow, but we did not run a culture on the cured quarter prior to treatment.
Most lactating cows had had (clinical) infections for short periods of time (a week? maybe two) before beginning treatment, but not long enough that I would call them chronic. Most were following a cold snap which left several cows with frostbitten teats.
We've dry treated cows with heavy doses of cephipirin benazthine (Tomorrow/Cefa-Dri), dry treated with Nolvasan (chlorhexidine hydrochloride) suspension which my vet claimed works wonders - it hasn't yet.
The dry cows are getting 25-70 days dry. Former was an accident.
We have not tried Quartermaster as it's not exactly labeled for staph. Haven't tried Driclox yet. (Anyone used that?)
Teats are sealed with Stronghold following administration of dry treatment.
We've tried throwing up our hands in despair over cows that are evaluated mid-dry time and have one quarter swollen big as a grapefruit. We've taken those cows, stripped the quarter, and said "you've had your chance". We've tried killing the quarter with chlorhexidine disinfectant.
Shucks, I can't seem to get the quarter to DIE on cow #120! She's been hit 3 times with 60cc's at 24 hour intervals. 3 weeks later the quarter is still heavily infected and shows no signs of shrinkage.
It doesn't help that she's bagging up and getting ready to begin her 3rd lactation. :roll:
I've loaded one cow up systemically with LA200 at dry off in conjunction with everything else. No such luck - she's still infected.
I had one cow calve this morning that was cultured as having staph prior to dry off. We gave her Nolvasan + cephipirin and I'm anxiously waiting to see if she's clean or not. She went down with milk fever today and I didn't milk her this morning or this afternoon.
Hopefully she's at least clinically clean when I milk her tomorrow. *fingers crossed*
Anyone have any thoughts...comments...advice? :help: