Sealing of the teat canal by the natural keratin plug that forms during the dry period is the primary natural component protecting against new intramammary infection in the late dry period. Potential damage to that protection is one reason why repeated infusions are not recommended. It has been documented that a significant proportion of quarters experience long delays or outright failure to form a complete keratin plug during the dry period, putting these quarters at increased risk for experiencing new mastitis infections. One study has reported that this risk is increased in cows producing high levels of milk at dry off. One method of supplementing the teat's defenses throughout the entire dry period is by use of an internal teat sealant. An artificial internal sealant is available for use alone or in combination with an antibiotic infusion. This product has no antimicrobial activity and therefore is recommended for use alone only in the uninfected udder. Otherwise, internal teat sealants should be used in conjunction with dry cow antibiotic therapy. When used alone in uninfected quarters, this product has been shown to prevent significantly more new infections than using no treatment at all, and has been shown to have equal, if not better, efficacy in preventing new infections, as compared to using antibiotic alone. In the infected udder, or when the infection status is unknown, an antibiotic infusion is recommended. This may be accompanied by teat sealant and may be especially valuable for the longer dry period. Using the internal sealant in combination with an antibiotic prevents significantly more new dry period infections than using antibiotic alone. While internal teat sealants are most commonly used in combination with intramammary antibiotics in North America, they are also approved for combination use in most European countries. The teat sealant meets all requirements for protection of the non-lactating gland for organic herds, but this is also dependent on individual countries' requirements. It is paramount that the very best hygienic practices are adopted when infusing the teat sealant to prevent contamination of the mammary gland.
Most herds have been shown to benefit by treating every quarter of every cow at drying off with an antimicrobial infusion. This blanket approach will reach all infected quarters, is more effective than selective treatment in preventing new infections early in the dry period, and does not require laboratory screening procedures to decide which cows and quarters to treat. When subclinical mastitis in a herd has been reduced to a very low level (e.g. every cow in the herd less than 100,000 cells/ml), using dry cow treatment only on selected higher risk cows has been considered appropriate by some dairy producers and veterinarians. However, selective treatment may fail to reach 20 to 40 percent of infected quarters in a herd. Also, uninfected quarters not treated at drying off are more likely than treated quarters to become infected during the dry period. It has been shown when the cow is the unit of risk, a cow with one infected quarter is more likely to suffer another infected quarter than any quarter in an uninfected cow. Most studies indicate that if the decision is based on economics (i.e. the cost of dry cow therapy compared to the return to the producer), treating every quarter of every cow at drying off is preferable. From: National Mastitis Council Factsheet – Dry Cow Therapy (revised 2006)
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