Chronic high somatic cell counts in the national dairy herd

摘要

Milk somatic cell counts (SCC) are well accepted worldwide as an indirect measure of mammary inflammation. They correlate well with bacterial infection of the udder and are readily obtainable from milk recording organisations. Individual cow SCCs arecommonly presented as lists in descending order of SCC magnitude. The attention of both farmer and veterinarian is usually drawn to those animals at the top of the list with the highest SCCs. These cows will often have long-established infections, whichdo not respond well to treatment, leaving farmers unimpressed with the expense of treatment and the poor results obtained. While these cows must be effectively managed, due to the risk of infection that they pose to the rest of the herd, the optimal time for veterinary intervention may be passed.