New infection rate of bovine mammary glands after application of an internal teat seal at dry- off

The internal teat sealant OrbeSeal((R)) (Zoetis, Berlin, Germany) is intended to prevent new intramammary infection (IMI) throughout the dry period. The aim of this field study was to determine new infection rates in udder quarters applied exclusively with the sealant at dry-off and untreated ones (control group). For that, the new infection rate of udder quarters treated with the sealant was evaluated in a split-udder design (front right and rear left udder quarters treated, the other ones untreated) in 128 cows from nine dairy farms in North Germany that were healthy in all four udder quarters (i.e. <100000cells/ml, bacteriologically negative). After calving, duplicate quarter milk samples were collected twice at DIM (days in milk) 5-12 and 7d later for culture. The new infection rates for treated and untreated groups were 3<bold>4</bold> and 10<bold>5</bold>%, respectively. The results showed that applying a standardised study design with very few confounders under field conditions, using internal teat sealants reduced the new infection rate on quarter level to a third of that of the control group. Thus, internal teat sealants represent a viable option for dry-off treatment of udder-healthy cows.