This is the second edition of the book, containing 16 chapters which focus on prevention and control of mastitis as well as on the different factors that lead to mastitis resulting in poor milk quality. The book contains two appendices, the first contains a liner line chart and the second contains parlour audit. An index is also provided.

Worldwide, mastitis is still one of the most important diseases in the dairy sector. Being a multifactorial disease, caused by multiple pathogens, control remains a difficult issue. Mastitis not only affects the health of milk-producing animals, having consequences for the profitability of dairy farms, it also affects the animal welfare. Moreover, mastitis negatively influences the milk quality having consequences for the dairy processing industry. In other words: mastitis affects a large part of the dairy production chain. Due to ongoing scientific effort, insight in mastitis in the context of increasingly complex farming systems, is improving. This insight leads to better methods to control mastitis, either by prevention or by adequate measures (e.g. therapy) when a cow (or goat or sheep) gets mastitis. This book reflects the current knowledge from all over the world on mastitis as it was presented during the 4th IDF International Mastitis Conference, held in June 2005 in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The papers of the 115 oral presentations and the 13 keynote presentations are reflecting not only the current knowledge of mastitis control but are also giving ideas for future solutions for control measures.

Mastitis is one of the main health issues in dairy production. The losses are not only economic, but also issues such as animal health and welfare, milk quality, antibiotic usage and the image of the dairy sector are important reasons to focus on mastitis control. Accordingly, mastitis is a topic that is well-studied worldwide. Although the scope of the studies may vary from the smallest unit, the gene, to the largest unit, a whole country, the final goal is to control mastitis more effectively. Effective mastitis control is based on knowledge from a wide range of fields, like infectious pressure, milking procedures, resistance, detection, diagnosis and treatment. However, science alone is not enough. To ensure effective mastitis control, research needs to be inspired by, and implemented in, dairy farming practice. This demands cooperation and communication between scientists, veterinarians, extension specialists and dairy farmers worldwide. This book gives the state of the art of mastitis research internationally. The contributions reflect not only current knowledge of mastitis control, but also provide ideas for effective mastitis control in practice.

Current, important information on mastitis for all food animal practitioners! Topics will include new perspectives in mastitis control, treatment of clinical mastitis, antimicrobial resistance in mastitis pathogens, the role of diagnostic microbiology in mastitis control programs, update on control of Staph aureus and Strep ag, epidemiology and control of mycoplasma mastitis, managing environmental mastitis, mastitis vaccine strategies, using mastitis records and somatic cell count data, the role of the milking machine in mastitis control, stray voltage and milk quality, communicating and implementing udder health programs, and more!

In dairy industries throughout the world there is a desire to optimize udder health. An improved udder health will lead to improved animal welfare, improved production efficiency and a reduction of the use of antibiotics. To improve udder health, first of all, technical knowledge on issues such as treatment, milking, infectious pressure and host resistance is important. However, over the years we learned that knowledge alone is not enough: knowledge has to be used. And for knowledge to be used, farmers have to be motivated. This requires knowledge about motivation and communication. In this book, recent knowledge on technical udder health issues is combined with knowledge on motivation and communication. A large number of descriptions of mastitis control programs that are being carried out worldwide is combined with more specific studies. These are aimed at effective advising, motivation and communication strategies, economics, and technical studies on mastitis control and prevention. Therefore, this book provides an applied source of information for all that are willing to improve udder health.

Dairy cow herd health is an important and universal topic in large animal veterinary practice and farming, covering both preventive medicine and health promotion. With the move towards large scale farming, the health of the herd is important as an economic unit and to promote the health of the individuals within it. This book will focus on diseases within herds, herd husbandry practices, youngstock management and environmental issues. Major diseases and conditions will be covered such as mastitis, lameness, nutrition, metabolic and common infectious diseases from a herd health perspective.