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Digital dermatitis (DD) is the second most prevalent disease in dairy cattle. It causes significant losses for dairy breeders and negatively impacts cows’ welfare and milk yield. Despite this, its etiology has not been entirely identified, and available data are limited. Antibiotic therapy is a practical method for managing animal health, but overuse has caused the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, leading to a loss in antimicrobial efficacy. The antimicrobial properties of metal nanoparticles (NPs) may be a potential alternative to antibiotics. The aim of this study was to determine the biocidal properties of AgNPs, CuNPs, AuNPs, PtNPs, FeNPs, and their nanocomposites against pathogens isolated from cows suffering from hoof diseases, especially DD. The isolated pathogens included Sphingomonas paucimobilis, Ochrobactrum intermedium I, Ochrobactrum intermedium II, Ochrobactrum gallinifaecis, and Actinomyces odontolyticus. Cultures were prepared in aerobic and anaerobic environments. The viability of the pathogens was then determined after applying nanoparticles at various concentrations. The in vitro experiment showed that AgNPs and CuNPs, and their complexes, had the highest biocidal effect on pathogens. The NPs’ biocidal properties and their synergistic effects were confirmed, which may forecast their use in the future treatment and the prevention of lameness in cows, especially DD.

Mastitis is one of the most common issues for milk producers around the world. Antibiotic therapy is often ineffective, and therefore, scientists must find a new solution. The aim of this paper is to estimate the influence of common and well-known cosmetic substrates and mixtures of nanoparticles (NPs) and cosmetic substrates on the viability of frequently occurring mastitis pathogens, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The obtained results suggest that only collagen + elastin and glycerine influenced and increased bacteria viability. In case of the rest of the cosmetic substrates, the viability of E. coli and S. aureus was decreased, and the results were statistically significant (p ≤ 0.01). Prepared pre-dipping and dipping mixtures decrease (p ≤ 0.01) the viability of the mentioned pathogens. The obtained results of the in vitro analysis are very promising. In the next step, prepared mixtures should be tested in different herd conditions if they can be used in mastitis prevention or decrease the number of subclinical mastitis cases. Furthermore, these mixtures could become an interesting alternative for organic milk production where conventional preparations and antibiotics are forbidden. However, further analysis, especially on the influence of prepared mixtures on other bacteria species and, algae, fungi, are necessary.

Simple Summary Inflammation of the mammary gland (mastitis) is an important disease of dairy sheep. Mastitis management depends mainly on the diagnosis. Conventional diagnostic methods including somatic cell count, California Mastitis Test, and microbial culture have limitations. Therefore researchers are looking for new diagnostic biomarkers of mastitis including specific proteins produced by the liver in case of disease (acute phase proteins), unique genetic sequences (miRNAs), or antimicrobial peptides produced by immune cells during inflammation (cathelicidines). Abstract This review aims to characterize promising novel markers of ovine mastitis. Mastitis is considered as one of the primary factors for premature culling in dairy sheep and has noticeable financial, productional, and animal welfare-related implications. Furthermore, clinical, and subclinical mammary infections negatively affect milk yield and alter the milk composition, thereby leading to lowered quality of dairy products. It is, therefore, crucial to control and prevent mastitis through proper diagnosis, treatment or culling, and appropriate udder health management particularly at the end of the lactation period. The clinical form of mastitis is characterized by abnormalities in milk and mammary gland tissue alteration or systemic symptoms consequently causing minor diagnostic difficulties. However, to identify ewes with subclinical mastitis, laboratory diagnostics is crucial. Mastitis control is primarily dependent on determining somatic cell count (SCC) and the California Mastitis Test (CMT), which aim to detect the quantity of cells in the milk sample. The other useful diagnostic tool is microbial culture, which complements SCC and CMT. However, all mentioned diagnostic methods have their limitations and therefore novel biomarkers of ovine subclinical mastitis are highly desired. These sensitive indicators include acute-phase proteins, miRNA, and cathelicidins measurements, which could be determined in ovine serum and/or milk and in the future may become useful in early mastitis diagnostics as well as a preventive tool. This may contribute to increased detection of ovine mammary gland inflammation in sheep, especially in subclinical form, and consequently improves milk quality and quantity.

Due to increasing bacterial antibiotic resistance and the consumers’ tendency to choose organic products, cattle farmers are interested in alternative methods of calf diarrhoea treatment. This is a major challenge for veterinarians. Few methods of non-antibiotic treatment that bring satisfactory results have been reported in the related literature so far. In this article, the authors compare different non-antibiotic methods of diarrhoea prevention and treatment in calves. Among the alternatives discussed are herbs, probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics, lactoferrin, and bacteriophages. It was found that the best results could be achieved through the use of pro-, pre- and synbiotics. However, the authors would like to point out that with the expansion of knowledge about the practical use of broad-scale bacteriophages, they could be the best alternative to antibiotics.

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate whether different methods of providing eubiotic feed additives, to neonatal calves during the preweaning period, can improve the health, performance, rumen fermentation, and metabolic status of the calves. Forty-four Holstein-Friesian dairy calves, were divided into one of four treatment groups for the 8 week trial. The eubiotic feed additives consisted of a combination of probiotic Lactobacillus spp. (multiple-strains) at a dose of 250 mg/calf/d and phytobiotics containing rosmarinic acid, as the main bioactive compound, at a dose of 50 mg/calf/d. Treatment differed by the methods that the eubiotic feed additives were provided, and the groups were as follows: CON (control, without eubiotic feed additive in their milk replacer or their starter feed), MR (eubiotic feed additives added to the milk replacer), SF (eubiotic feed additives added to the starter feed), MRS (eubiotic feed additives added to the milk replacer and the starter feed). Individual intake of starter feed was measured daily and body weights weekly until 56 d of age. Results The body weight of the MR treatment group calves were higher on days 28 and 56. Including the eubiotic feed additive in the milk replacer affected increasing average daily gain, starter intake and total dry matter intake from d 29 to d 56 and the overall experimental period in comparison to the CON group. The calves of the MR treatment had lower fecal scores from d 3 to d 28, number of parasite oocysts/cysts per gram of feces on d 28, and the occurrences of faecal consistency scores of 3 (mild diarrhea) and 4 (confirmation diarrhea) were 3.2 and 3.0 times lower, respectively, compared with animals of the CON group. Also, in this group higher ruminal concentrations of total volatile fatty acids, propionate, and butyrate were noted on d 56 compared to CON group. Adding eubiotics into milk replacer resulted the highest concentrations of blood insulin-like growth factor-I and β-hydroxybutyrate from d 29 to 56 and through the entire experimental period. Conclusion The addition of eubiotic feed additives into the milk replacer can improve health, performance, rumen fermentation, and biochemical blood indices in dairy calves during the preweaning period.

Simple Summary Inflammation of the mammary gland (mastitis) is an important disease in dairy cows. Among factors affecting the incidence of mastitis, mineral deficiencies are mentioned, since they strongly influence the immune system. Consequently, these deficiencies result in weakened immunity, which increases the risk of any infectious disease. The reviewed minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium, copper and zinc) interact differently with the immune system; nevertheless, their deficiencies invariably increase the risk of mastitis occurrence in dairy cows. Abstract The aim of this paper is to describe the association between selected dietary minerals and mastitis in dairy cows. Minerals are a group of nutrients with a proven effect on production and reproductive performance. They also strongly affect immune system function. In particular their deficiencies may result in immunosuppression, which is a predisposing factor for udder inflammation occurrence. The role of selected dietary minerals (including calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium, copper and zinc) has been reviewed. Generally, minerals form structural parts of the body; as cofactors of various enzymes they are involved in nerve signaling, muscle contraction and proper keratosis. Their deficiencies lead to reduced activity of immune cells or malfunction of teat innate defense mechanisms, which in turn promote the development of mastitis. Special attention was also paid to minerals applied as nanoparticles, which in the future may turn out to be an effective tool against animal diseases, including mastitis. To conclude, minerals are an important group of nutrients, which should be taken into account on dairy farms when aiming to achieve high udder health status.

This research paper addresses the hypothesis that the incidence of various bovine mastitis pathogens is subject to change over time and across regions. The aim of the research was to determine the pathogen species that are currently the etiological agents of mastitis in Polish dairy herds. This comprehensive study was conducted in the period 2009-2017 and included all the Polish provinces, distinguishing between those with high and low numbers of dairy cattle. Over eight years 38,852 quarter milk samples were obtained from 22,587 cows with clinical and subclinical mastitis from herds located in all 16 provinces in Poland. Milk samples were cultured using standard microbiological methods. Most of them were positive for microorganisms but there was also part of bacteriologically negative and contaminated samples. Gram-positive catalase-negative cocci and staphylococci were the most prevalent pathogens. The growth of other microorganisms such as Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacilli, yeasts and algae was observed at lower frequencies. There were differences in the prevalence of microorganisms depending on the region. In the eastern part of the country a higher number of Streptococcus agalactiae infections than in other regions was observed. This paper provides the latest data on microbial species, frequency of their occurrence and regional location within Poland. The knowledge of mastitis pathogens enables appropriate treatment and to make prevention recommendations for the herds.