622. Infection and mastitis in a dairy herd 1945–53

Abstract

A description has been given of a dairy herd, its breed composition, history and management over a period of 8 years. A close study of infection and mastitis was made in the herd, and the bacteriological methods used have been outlined. The data collected have been analysed and the methods of analysis have been described. There were 530 complete lactations for which full records were available and, because of the frequency of milk sampling and the care with which the bacteriological and other tests were made, these data are considered to be suitable for a precise study of the effect on the incidence of infection and mastitis of stage of lactation, season of the year, age and previous infections. These factors will be the subject of a later report.