Evaluation of Intramammary ozone therapy for clinical mastitis in dairy cows

Abstract

The effectiveness of ozone therapy was assessed after administering ozone to the inflammatory quarters of cows suffering from clinical mastitis. Using ozone gas generating apparatus, ozone was injected via a teat canal into the inflammatory area. Thirty cattle with clinical mastitis were divided into three groups: Ten cows were treated with ozonated normal saline (NS), ten cows with ozonated NS + antibiotic and Ten cows were treated with antibiotic therapy. Systemic and local clinical signs, California mastitis test scores, mastitis-causing pathogens, pH and somatic cell counts in milk were compared across and within groups. 60% (6/10) of cows with clinical mastitis treated with ozonated NS, 70% (7/10) treated with sensitive antibiotic, and 100% (10/10) of cows treated with ozone + antibiotic therapy recovered. It was demonstrated that this recently developed ozone therapy method is both safe and effective. The combination therapy also sterilized the udder quarters as no bacterial isolate could be detected in post-treatment milk samples.