4. Mastitis Severity Scoring

Using On Farm Culture to Improve Mastitis Treatment
Episode #4: Mastitis Severity Scoring

Before culturing individual cows, it is important to determine if they are eligible for delayed treatment. Some cows are too ill, and therapy should be initiated immediately. These cows are not good candidates for culturing, since the culture results would take too long to use in treatment decision making. To help distinguish these cows from cows that would benefit from culturing, a scoring system has been developed called the Mastitis Severity Score.

Dr. Pamela Ruegg outlines how to score cows for mastitis using the severity scoring system. Identifying mastitis early is important so that culturing can be performed and informed treatment decisions made.