3/17/97

Contacts:
Leo Timms, Animal Science, (515) 294-4522
Brian Meyer, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0706

ISU DAIRY RESEARCH SHOWS PRODUCT REDUCES MASTITIS BY HALF

DES MOINES -- A dip that provides a protective coating to dairy cows' mammary glands reduced infections at calving by 50 percent in Iowa State University research trials.

The teat dip was developed by Leo Timms, an associate professor of animal science at ISU, and Carl Huprich, an Alabama expert in industrial polymers and plastics. Timms presented results of the research at the Midwest meetings of the American Society of Animal Science and American Dairy Science Association, March 17-19.

Mastitis, a disease caused most often by infection of a cow's mammary gland, is the dairy industry's costliest problem -- an estimated $2 billion a year.

"Fifty percent of mastitis occurs during the first and last week of the dry period when the animal is not being milked," said Timms. "During those times, current mastitis treatment strategies, including antibiotics, can be ineffective and expensive, and may create the potential for residues in milk if not used and monitored properly, especially prior to calving."

Most dry-period mastitis research has focused on trying to control bacteria once it is in the gland, rather than simply keeping bacteria out, Timms said. "Our goal was to develop a teat dip that would stay on long enough to prevent infections, while doing no harm to the animal or the milk supply."

After testing hundreds of compounds and formulations, Timms and Huprich came up with a teat dip that dries to form a flexible barrier. "This layer breaths, but is impermeable to bacteria, water and wind. It's stable in different temperatures, doesn't tear and doesn't irritate the animal," Timms said.

Trials were conducted on 410 cows in research trials at ISU and in Louisiana and Canada. The teat dip was applied the week after milking stopped and the week before the cows calved. Two teats on each cow were treated, the other two weren't. In the ISU trials, dipped teats showed a 50 percent reduction in infections at calving compared to undipped ones. The barrier stayed on the cows for three to seven days.

More trials are ongoing with other formulations, including those containing a germicide and a brighter color to make the barrier easier to detect. Researchers also are working to make the dip stay on the cows longer.

Patents are pending on the product, which has been licensed to a company and could be on the market this spring.

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