Eighteenth deliverable (D12) available now

The eighteenth deliverable of the project is the second one within work package 5, 'Prevention of antibiotic residues' and is entitled 'Appropriate management of antibiotic treatment of cows in automatic milking systems'.

Limited information was available on the influence of milking frequencies in automatic milking deviating from the regular milking times twice per day on the excretion time of residues in milk. In a previous study (reported in D11) the excretion of antibiotic residues in milk of healthy cows in depedence on milking frequency was reported. In this report results of the second part of the investigation performed on cows with clinical mastitis are presented. Diferent approached for determination of withholding periods were applied. In contrast to the findings in healthy cows the milking frequency had no significant effect on excretion time of cefquinome in milk. Only milk yield had a significant influence on excretion of residues in milk leading to shorter excretion times in cows with higher average daily milk yield during the experimental period.
From the results of these studies and from the available literature recommendations are given for management of antibiotic treatment of cows in AM-systems regarding farmer, veterinarian and AM manufacturer.

Message date: February 27, 2004