THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES OF INTRAMAMMARY DRUG INFUSION ON THE EFFICACY OF LOCAL ANTIBIOTIC UDDER-TREATMENTS

Through its structure the teat is enabled for a marked defence perform ance, in which the teatcanal and teatcanal keratin play a specially vi tal role. Although the selective adherence of some udder-associated ba cteria and the adsorptive potential of the keratin form a substantial part of the barrier-function of the teatcanal, they foster its colonis ation by mastitis pathogens at the same time. Teatcanal (swabs) examin ations have shown the wide distribution (> 50 percent) of teatcanal co lonisation and its surprising increase during the dry period and expla in in great parts the significantly better results after use of short- insertion cannulas, documented in American and recent German publicati ons. Due to the widely distributed teatcanal colonisations and the hig hly dissatisfying desinfectability of the teat-tip the conventional me thod of drug-infuson - with the injector-cannula introduced at its len gth - carries a high applicational risk of infection and causes inevit ably mechanical lesions in the epithelial and keratin lining, displace ment of the keratin-''filling'' and adsorbed bacterial clusters from t he teatcanal into the teat-cistern and a widening of the teatcanal wit h a gradually deficient closure over quite some time. By thorough tech nical modification of the protecting cap of the injector-cannula an al ternative technique of ''short insertion'' of the injector cannula (on ly some 3- 4 mm) into the teatcanal has recently become routinely avai lable for mastitis injectors, for lactation or dry-cow treatment alike ; this opens new applicational perspectives for the integrity of the t eat tissues, avoidance of iatrogenic infections and the elimination of mastitis pathogens and forms a therapeutic measure of its own for the treatment of teatcanal infections for the first time.