Economic and Ergonomic Implications of Summer Mastitis

Abstract

Every case of summer mastitis causes an economic loss which can be evaluated individually and ranges between 250 and 3000 DM depending on the value of the animal and the seriousness of the disease. In Schleswig-Holstein, Federal Republic of Germany, the average loss per case is assumed to be approximately 1000DM. There exists a variety of preventive measures, such as antibiotic treatments, insecticide treatments differing in formulation and duration of effectiveness (one to four applications per animal and season may be necessary), protection of the teat orifice with adhesive plaster, keeping the animals at risk indoors or sending them to areas known for a low incidence of summer mastitis. Costs of material and expenditure of work tend to be somewhat inversely proportional and are prone to local variations. A simple formula is given to approximate the marginal costs of prevention reasonable for a predicted incidence on the individual farm. The crucial point is the limited information of the incidence in the past as a parameter for the risk in the season to come, for there are considerable differences in incidence between years. It rests with the farmer either to choose preventive measures which use the whole expenditure at the beginning of the season (e.g. ear-tags, antibiotic treatment) or a method which allows for preventive treatment only when the risk of the disease is expected to grow due to weather conditions (e.g. pour-on insecticides). In the latter decision he has to face the risk of being late and other urgent work (e.g. harvesting) might interfere.