Cost-benefit-relation of the antibiotic mastitis therapy

The development of a herd specific mastitis control concept should be based on the mastitis induced complete economic costs (Sum of output losses and increased expenditures). The analysis of the cost-benefit-relation of the m astitis therapy should include information on hygiene management, spectrum of pathogens, actual mastitis prevalence and cow related criteria. By econo mic reasons, Str. agalactiae cases should be treated in any erase in contra st to coliform mastitis cases where an antibiotic treatment seems to be not justified. In all other cases pros and cons of an antibiotic treatment mus t be evaluated with respect to herd and cow specific factors but the determ ining factor should consist in keeping the loss-expenditure frontier. In ad dition to economic considerations criteria of animal welfare have to be inc luded in the evaluation of the necessity to use antibiotics for treatment o f clinical mastitis. This does not mean that under such circumstances in an y case antibiotics have to be applied.