Systemic prepartum treatment of end-term dairy heifers with penethamate hydriodide: Effect on udder health, milk yield, and culling until 120 days in milk

Prepartum intramammary treatment with antimicrobials of end-term dairy heifers has frequently been proposed as a practice to reduce the prevalence of intramammary infections (IMI) at calving. From a safety standpoint for both animal and administrator, systemic treatment is preferred. A clinical trial was conducted on heifers from 10 well-managed, commercial dairy farms with a low prevalence of heifer mastitis. The aim was to assess both the short- and long-term effects of a systemic prepartum therapy with penethamate hydriodide on udder health and milk production. Because it was hypothesized that some herds would benefit more from this treatment than others, specific herd-level information was collected before the start of the actual trial to screen for and explain potential herd-specific treatment effects. Further, the effect of treatment on antimicrobial susceptibility of staphylococcal isolates was monitored. End-term heifers were either treated systemically (over 3 consecutive days) 2 wk before expected calving date with penethamate hydriodide (n = 76) or remained untreated (n = 73). Systemic prepartum treatment of end-term heifers with penethamate hydriodide resulted in fewer IMI in early lactation. However, all 6 cases of clinical mastitis in early lactation occurred in the treatment group [Streptococcus uberis (n = 1), Corynebacterium bovis (n = 1), Staphylococcus aureus (n = 1); 1 sample was contaminated; 2 samples remained culture negative]. No long-term treatment effects (from 4 to 120 d in milk) on milk production, udder health, or culling hazard during later lactation were detected, although treated heifers belonging to herds classified as having low-yielding heifers out-produced the control heifers. Moreover, penicillin susceptibility of staphylococci isolated from milk samples of treated or control heifers did not differ. Herds with a low prevalence of heifer mastitis are not likely to benefit from prepartum systemic antimicrobial treatment of the end-term heifers.