Antimicrobial Selection for the Treatment of Clinical Mastitis and the Efficacy of Penicillin Treatment Protocols in Large Estonian Dairy Herds

Clinical mastitis (CM) is the most common microbial disease treated in dairy cows. We analyzed the antimicrobial usage in cows with CM (n = 11,420) in large dairy herds (n = 43) in Estonia. CM treatment data were collected during a 12-month study period. The antimicrobial usage was observed during the 21 days from the initiation of treatment, and the incidence of antimicrobial-treated CM was calculated for each study herd. The effect of intramammary (IMM), systemic, and combined (systemic and IMM) penicillin treatment of CM on the post-treatment somatic cell count (SCC) was analyzed using the treatment records of 2222 cows from 24 herds with a mixed multivariable linear regression model. The median incidence of antimicrobial-treated CM was 35.8 per 100 cow-years. Procaine benzylpenicillin and marbofloxacin were used in 6103 (35.5%, 95% CI 34.8–36.2) and 2839 (16.5%, 95% CI 16.0–17.1) CM treatments, respectively. Post-treatment SCC was higher after IMM penicillin therapy compared to systemic or combination therapy. Treatment of CM usually included first-choice antimicrobials, but different antimicrobial combinations were also widely used. The effect of procaine benzylpenicillin to post-treatment SCC was dependent on the administration route, cow parity, and days in milk. Further studies should evaluate the factors affecting veterinarians’ choice of antimicrobial used in the treatment of CM.