The National Mastitis Council, a not-for-profit organization devoted to reducing mastitis and enhancing milk quality, holds an annual and regional meeting each year. While typically held in the U.S., NMC regional meetings have also included locations in Canada and Mexico.

This year, however, the organization held its first meeting outside of North America. Teaming up with Ghent University and M-team, this year’s meeting took place in Ghent, Belgium. Previous meetings have typically drawn crowds of 250 to 350, but this year the meeting attracted 650 individuals, hailing from all around the world.

The National Mastitis Council currently has close to 1,500 members, including researchers, veterinarians, dairy producers and industry advisers, in more than 40 countries around the world.

“Our vision is that we’re a global information source for the production of quality milk,” says NMC President John Middleton. “The National Mastitis Council in and of itself does not fund research, but rather we synthesize that information and put it together for the end user who is interested in milk quality.”

The NMC produces education material, establishes guidelines for mastitis control methods, develops protocols for determining the effectiveness of mastitis control products and hosts seminars, like the annual and regional meeting.

Speakers at this year’s NMC meeting were divided into two programs: a scientific program and a technical program. The scientific program lasted a day and a half and included a variety of speakers.

On day one, three speakers shared their views on the use of antimicrobials in the prevention and cure of mastitis. Click here for more information. On the meeting’s second day, Luc De Meulemeester from the Milk Control Centre in Belgium spoke on how milk quality in Belgium, specifically in Flanders, has improved since the 1960s.

Greg Keefe, dairy veterinary research chairman at University of Prince Edward Island, presented on the importance of the dry period and dry cow management. In North America, he said, the most common approach to dry-period mastitis is “to infuse all quarters of all cows with dry cow therapy after the last milking,” but this has raised concerns about the overuse of antimicrobials.

“As an alternative to blanket dry cow therapy, a selective antimicrobial treatment of cows at drying off, based on infection status, has the potential to reduce the amount of antimicrobials used on dairy farms,” he said. “However, in order to be successful, selective dry cow therapy requires a method to determine a cow’s end-of-lactation infection status so that appropriate treatment decisions can be made.”

Much of the discussion at this year’s meeting focused on the reduction of antibiotic use. Pamela Ruegg, University of Wisconsin, for example, gave a lively presentation that addressed the application of scientifically based practical strategies to reduce the dependence on antibiotic therapy.

“In some cases, the risk is perceived rather than real,” she said. Farmers have started recording the severity of cases, and almost all are mild in nature. She recommended that producers base their treatments on individual diagnoses.

Treatment should only be performed if the individual cow’s medical history has been reviewed, and the duration of therapy should be based on the producer’s knowledge of that individual case.

“Extended-duration intramammary mastitis therapy should not be used for all cases,” she said. “And do not administer antibiotics to cows that will not benefit.”

Another major focus of the three-day event was on emerging and existing pathogens. Larry Fox, Washington State University, provided an update on two emerging pathogens: Mycoplasma and Prototheca. Mycoplasma mastitis has been increasing in prevalence over the last decade or so.

The problem appears to be associated with the increasing herd size, Fox said. While transmission has traditionally been thought of as a milking time hygiene issue, some current evidence now suggests nasal aerosols may be a significant source of transmission.

While the number of prototheca cases worldwide has been increasing, unfortunately the epidemiology of these outbreaks has been less clear, he added.

Joe Hogan, Ohio State University, provided an update on environmental pathogens, including Streptococcus uberis, Klebsiella and Escherichia coli. A significant source of mastitis pathogens, he said, is bedding material, particularly organic bedding like straw, wood and recycled or composted manure.

Efforts to control mastitis populations in housing systems that use organic bedding have been successful for the most part, he said. The best solution is to replace the bedding daily. This will reduce teat-end exposure to coliforms.

Attendees were also offered the opportunity to participate in a variety of short courses and practical sessions, as well as an opportunity to visit a commercial dairy farm and the Milcobel cheese plant. Event planners even included time for socializing, inviting attendees to network at the opening reception at the University of Ghent and to a conference dinner at the stunning Gravensteen castle in the city’s center.

Sarne De Vliegher, 2014 NMC regional meeting program chair and associate professor, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, says the event was a real success.

Those who missed it are invited to attend next year’s regional meeting in Syracuse, New York, scheduled for the end of July. For additional information, visit the National Mastitis Council website. PD

Melanie Epp is a freelance farm writer from Guelph, Ontario.