Prevention and Treatment of Mastitis with Probiotics
MBM ScienceBridge GmbH
Mastitis continues to be the most important economic risk for dairy farmers, accounting for about 40% of the total direct costs of the common production diseases. This technology is a biological approach to mastitis prevention based on a special combination of probiotic bacteria, leading to a protection against the majority of pathogenic bacteria for mastitis.
Current treatment, both for prophylaxis and therapy, rely heavily on antibiotics, which is costly and frequently ineffective due to the overuse of antibiotics in veterinary medicine resulting in antibiotic resistance. Recent legislation in the EU are restricting the use of antibiotics in animals leading to greater controls and limitations in their use. Thus, there is an unmet need for alternative therapies.
Scientists at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hannover developed a probiotic teat dip as an active way to protect the teat ends against pathogenic bacteria. The special formulation is based on a combination of non-pathogenic probiotic bacteria, which protects the teats against major pathogens of mastitis.
- Combination of probiotic non-pathogenic bacteria for more effective protection against majority of pathogenic bacteria for mastitis.
- Probiotics actively colonize teats to form a protective barrier.
- Special formulation as teat dip with prolonged survival of probiotic bacteria.
- Showed significant reduction of pathogens as well as of somatic cell counts in an initial field test.
- Showed significant reduction of mastitis cases on hifers in an initial field test.
- Probiotic bacteria can be produced cheaply and in large quantities.
- Probiotic foodgrade organism with GRAS status, hence no withholding periods for the milk as in the case of treatment with antibiotics = no milk losses!
- Natural, effective alternative to antibiotic therapy for prevention and treatment of mastitis.
- Can be applied as teat dip or other formulations.
- Particularly effective during the dry period.
In vitro and in vivo proof of concept in a first dairy farm field study.
A priority patent application has been filed in Germany.
Applicant: University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hannover.