Mastitis in Sheep

Summary

Changes that members have made/or plan to make in response to this project include: 
Changing to a more effective antibiotic. Some farms had considerable resistance to particular antibiotics and have since changed to an antibiotic that should be more effective; 

If in doubt as to a diagnosis of mastitis, some members are utilizing a thermometer to check for increased temperature in sheep. Sheep with increased temperatures require antibiotic treatment while some sheep may just have swollen udders post lambing. This reduction in use of antibiotic can reduce the selection pressure for antibiotic resistance; 

Members involved in LambPlan flocks may have the opportunity to submit data on mastitis if SGA include this in their database. This may identify sires more likely to produce progeny that develop mastitis. There are however, a number of issues relating to genetic selection with respect to mastitis that require further clarification/research. Further research into mastitis in Australian sheep is required to evaluate expected benefits of incorporating mastitis information into breeding objectives; and 

All members are aware of the benefits of rapid treatment of sheep with clinical mastitis. Severe mastitis happens so quickly that immediate treatment is imperative to save the ewe. This may also change the frequency with which sheep are checked as they must be observed daily to reduce the chance of mastitis deaths.