Mastitis Therapy

has been a hotly debated issue in the US. The initial issue was the effect of drugs, chiefly antibiotics, on cheese manufacturing processes. Reports in the press highlighting contamination of milk and other dairy products with antibiotics and other animal drugs quickly raised the issue of food safety and resulted in the intervention of governmental agencies regulating the use of animal medications in dairy cattle. Guidelines for drug use in dairy cattle established by FDA and on-farm quality assurance programs developed by the National Milk Producers Federation and the American Veterinary Medical Association have successfully prevented accidentally contaminated milk from reaching the processing and consumer level of the dairy industry. Most recently global concerns for developing antimicrobial drug resistance and the need to develop more prudent and judicious use of animal drugs have caused the veterinary profession to reconsider the intervention methods of treating and controlling mastitis in dairy cattle.