Mendel University in Brno 

Visegradský fond: NON-ANTIBIOTIC APPROACHES TO CONTROL MASTITIS IN DAIRY COWS (2024-2026)

Project profile

Title	Non-antibiotic approaches to control mastitis in dairy cows
Project ID	22420065
Coordinator	Zuzana Lacková (University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice) zuzana.lackova@uvlf.sk
Participating institutions	University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice – coordinator Mendel University in Brno Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest
Funding	International Visegrad Fund
Project duration	04 November 2024 – 30 April 2026

Project summary

The project teams up 4 research groups from Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary to develop new methods for early detection of mastitis in dairy cows, propose a new protective product of mammary gland based on lactobacilli, and prepare guidelines for mastitis prevention for farmers in the V4 region and beyond. As a result, the use of antibiotics on dairy farms will be reduced in line with the EU strategy to fight antimicrobial resistance.

Background situation

The most common treatment of mastitic cows is antibiotic (ATB) therapy during lactation, but also preventive treatment with intramammary ATBs during the drying of cows. Using non-ATB preventive treatments to support this conventional approach is very limited. Overuse of ATBs (blind treatment) results in serious problems such as ineffective treatment and the presence of ATB residues in milk causing increased ATB resistance in humans and cumulation of ATB residues in soil. Therefore, the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy plans to reduce the ATB use in farm animals by 50% by 2030. It is supported by the EU’s ban on all forms of routine farm ATB use, including prophylactic group treatments, effective from 2022. In V4 countries, there are no methodological procedures for dairy farmers to selective application of ATBs in the treatment of cows before drying. To remedy this situation, a cooperative approach is needed involving researchers and farmers to improve mastitis control by introducing selective drying programs for dairy cows along with innovative preventive non-antibiotic treatment.

Project scope

The project offers a complete analysis of the production chain: health status of dairy cows ‒ etiology and diagnosis of mastitis ‒ treatment and prevention of inflammation of the mammary gland, which is essential for the management and economy of milk quality and production on dairy farms situated in the V4 countries. The main areas covered by the project include:

1. diagnosis of mastitis caused by contagious and environmental bacteria:
   • refining the clinical diagnosis of mastitis using methods of direct and indirect determination of symptoms of the mammary gland inflammation,
   • using a suitable combination of cultivation media and selective nutrient media to detect the current spectrum of pathogens of the mammary gland and determine their virulence factors (sensitivity to antibiotics, production of enterotoxins, hemolysins, biofilm and others),
   • monitoring the quality and health safety of produced milk and selected dairy products.
2. introduction of selective drying programmes and cow’s immunity support:
   • analysis of dairy cows based on milk utility control results, incorporating algorithmic models to identify dairy cows at risk during various stages of lactation,
   • selection of the drying method (without or with the use of intramammary ATB) based on the analysis of data from the performance control, and clinical and laboratory examination,
   • supporting cows’ immunity using oral supplements with selected antioxidant nutrients (selenium, zinc, vitamin E, C) and organic additives (humic acids).
3. development of a new protective teat dipping preparation based on lactic acid bacteria
   • isolation of lactobacilli from the teat skin and teat duct of dairy cows,
   • in vitro testing of suitable strains for their potential adhesive and bactericidal effect on selected pathogens of the mammary gland,
   • designing the formula of a protective preparation in the form of solution or suspension,
   • verification of the effectiveness of the protective preparation and its implementation in practice through recipients of project outputs and a proposal for a patent or a utility model.

The project has innovative aspects in the breeding and research fields:

1. extensive research will be conducted on dairy farms situated in V4 countries to investigate the etiological causes of udder infection with the introduction of new detection methods for the inflammatory markers;
2. a new formula for a non-antibiotic product based on lactobacilli to treat udders prepared jointly by the partners.

Project participants and target groups

The research team has brought together experts in the field of breeding, treatment and management of ruminants and the control of products of animal origin from Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, including young researchers and PhD students.

The project involves several dairy farms in the V4 region: 4 in Slovakia, 2 in Hungary, 2 in Poland and 2 in the Czech Republic. The on-field stage of the planned studies will be carried out on the selected farms, with sampling of feed, milk, blood and rumen contents. Implementing the project directly under practical dairy farm conditions is expected to enhance the health of dairy cows’ mammary glands and improve the quality of milk production.