RT Journal Article
T1 Is lack of antibiotic usage affecting udder health status of organic dairy cattle?
A1 Orjales Galdo, Inmaculada
A1 López Alonso, María Marta
A1 Rodríguez Bermúdez, Ruth
A1 Rey-Crespo, Francisco
A1 Villar, Ana
A1 Miranda Castañón, Marta Inés
K1 Udder health
K1 Organic farming
K1 Antibiotics
K1 Somatic cell count
AB This research communication aimed to compare somatic cell count (SCC), the main marker of udder health status, in organic farms not using antibiotics (O, n = 6), organic farms using antibiotics (OA, n = 7) and conventional farms (CA, n = 5) using antibiotic treatments, all of them at pasture. SCC was statistically significantly higher in O (173780) compared to CA (93325) and OA (107152). Milk yield had a significant diluting effect on SCC and differences between groups increased with parities. Stratified analysis of SCC depending on lactation number and % of monthly SCC test with different linear scores (LS) indicated that there is no difference in udder health in the primiparous heifers from the three groups of farms, but it deteriorates in older cows because of chronic infections in O (possibly due to lack of antibiotic use). Our results suggest that the non-use of antibiotics had an effect in udder health leading to higher occurrence of clinical and subclinical mastitis. Therefore, preventive management practices for mastitis control are essential in organic farms.
PB Cambridge University Press
SN 1469-7629
YR 2016
FD 2016-11-15
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/38409
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/38409
LA eng
NO Orjales I, López-Alonso M, Rodríguez-Bermúdez R, Rey-Crespo F, Villar A, Miranda M. Is lack of antibiotic usage affecting udder health status of organic dairy cattle? Journal of Dairy Research. 2016;83(4):464-467. doi:10.1017/S0022029916000601
DS Minerva
RD 22 abr 2026