Epidemiology of Mastitis

Mastitis is probably the most important health disorder on dairy farms. This is reflected in a relatively high incidence of clinical mastitis and, on many farms a high prevalence of subclinical mastitis. Additionally, mastitis causes the quality of the milk to decrease, resulting in a loss of production and/or a less than optimal product. To this end, the dairy industry faces worldwide penalty programs trying to increase the quality of milk. The most important way to continuously produce milk of good quality is to keep the mastitis situation in the herd under tight control.