Mastitis Therapy in Small Ruminants

Small ruminant dairy production varies significantly from bovine production in physiology, milk composition, production scale, processing of products, and availability of labeled mastitis treatments, all of which may impact therapeutic decision-making. Extra-label drug use considerations, including extended withdrawal interval recommendations, must be kept in mind, and practitioners should utilize Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank to provide recommendations to producers. Milk quality evaluation tools such as Dairy Herd Improvement testing, California Mastitis Test, and milk culture can help to guide treatment decisions as in cattle, and judicious use of antimicrobials and prudent drug selection is the key to preserving the efficacy of this valuable resource.