Antibiotics used in animal production contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance (Landers et al., 2012) and are subject to controversy in public opinion. A selective dry cow therapy program would enable a significant reduction in the use of antibiotics in dairy production. Milk Amyloid A (MAA) has been suggested as a biomarker of both clinical and subclinical bovine mastitis (Gerardi et al., 2009; Pyorala et al., 2011). We conducted a field study to evaluate the efficiency of the measurement of MAA when used to make selective antimicrobial treatment decisions at mammary quarter level on cows at drying off.
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