Kontext

There is pressure for the dairy industry to reduce its use of antibiotics due to increasing antibiotic resistance. The recent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance (2015) commissioned by the UK Government stated “farmers need to dramatically cut the amount of antibiotics used in agriculture, because of the threat to human health”. In the review, out of 280 published, peer-reviewed research articles investigating antibiotic use in agriculture, 72% found evidence of a link between antibiotic use in farming and resistance in humans.
In a small study at SAC Veterinary Laboratory in Dumfries (2016), 1500 milk samples were tested for mastitis causing pathogens and the three main pathogens were exposed to commonly used antibiotics to measure the extent of resistance. It was found that S. uberis showed 85% resistance to Streptomycin and Neomycin and S. aureus showed 63% resistance to penicillin. Most worryingly, 3rd generation cephalosporins exhibited 35% and 37% resistance to S. aureus and S. uberis respectively. Third generation cephalosporins are the last choice antibiotic for animal and human medicine, with heavy reliance in neonatal units.
In the dairy industry it is current practice to dry cows off and administer antibiotics to reduce mammary infections during the dry period. This practice could be adapted to significantly reduce prophylactic use of antibiotics. SDCT, where cows only receive a teat sealant and no antibiotics at drying off, is already being discussed between processors, veterinarians and farmers. However, adoption of this practice is not compulsory or widespread. SDCT could significantly reduce antibiotic usage but has to be carefully managed so as not to increase risk of mastitis and impact on cow health and performance.