Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Mastitis is the most prevalent disease in dairy herds world-wide and the reason for extensive production losses. The economic loss due to Mastitis last year in the US alone was 1.7 billion dollars. Milk yield and composition is affected by the Mastitis condition, the microbes that cause it, and/or prevention or segregation methods. Mastitis is a condition affecting cows and other mammals whereby the udder becomes inflamed due to bacterial presence and body response. Mastitis can reduce milk production through the need to discard affected or contaminated produced milk and through a decrease in herd size due to cow fatalities. Preventative techniques may remove cows from the milking cycle therefore reducing the quantity produced. Teat dipping, a commonly used preventative, may introduce unwanted biocides into bulk milk. Therapies, such as antibiotics, may require the milk to be discarded due to the presence of these antibiotics in the produced milk. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations predicts that a doubling of the global food production by 2050 will need be attained to satisfy the increasing population. Milk represents a vital nutrient source and maintaining biologically safe milk in the face of increasing demands will be difficult. With milk production an integral part of the world¿s food supply and Mastitis a key factor in production loss, it is apparent that this condition demands new and innovative methods to stem or reduce the loss of cows, milk and associated products in all milking environments. The evaluation will be performed by the Animal Health Diagnostic Center of the Quality Milk Production Services (QMPS) associated with Cornell University Veterinary College. It will determine if iodine vapor as a bubble in a liquid reduces the counts of microbes on a teat surface without leaving a high level residue. It will expose contaminated teats to the iodine vapor bubble and perform tests to determine what the reduction is in the number of bacteria. QMPS conducts both applied and basic field research in Mastitis prevention techniques through its affiliation with the Epidemiology and Animal Health Diagnostic Centers at Cornell University and this association provides them with content area expertise. Furthermore, their expertise in biostatistics ensures the validity of this study design and the associated data analyses of this protocol. QMPS performs extensive research into new Mastitis control technology and programs to improve milk quality and food safety associated with Mastitis and milk hygiene. The antimicrobial and safety benefits iodine vapor perfusion may have wide ranging applications for the Federal Government and commercially for use in protecting water supplies, vegetable and fruit surfaces, animal carcasses, medical uses such as diabetic ulcerations, etc.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The goal of this project is to evaluate and demonstrate the effectiveness of bubbles containing low dose elemental iodine vapor in a liquid medium to decrease Mastitis pathogens on excised cow teat surfaces. Experiments planned in the Phase I research and developments efforts are designed to answer the following questions;  Does iodine vapor as a bubble in a liquid medium have antimicrobial capabilities on cow teat surfaces?  Are exposure times comparable to currently used and tested teat dip iodophors?  Is the residue remaining on the teat surface equal to, greater than or less than liquid teat dips?  Are there additional benefits from using vaporous iodine, i.e. drier teats, cleaner teats, etc?
Project Methods
A bench scale mock up of the device will be used on excised cow teats and the results will be evaluated through microbiological testing. The device will allow for delivery, dissolution and distribution of iodinated vapor into a liquid medium producing a bubble perfusion within a device encompassing a cow teat. Measuring devices will be employed to determine iodinated vapor output, total iodine used and vapor capture. The work involving the design of the iodine vapor perfusion generation device and the application apparatus will be performed by and at i2 Air Fluid Innovation, Inc and moved to the QMPS for excised teat bacterial evaluation. At QMPS/Cornell University, the experiment will be a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with the infusion treatment as the independent variable of interest using varied Mastitis causing microbes; both environmental and contagious. Suspensions of the challenge microbes will be prepared. Teats will be collected from a slaughter house and then washed and stored at the Cornell Animal Health Diagnostic Center (CU-AHDC). Eligible teats will be prepared and stored in a freezer. Teats will be thawed in warm water, dipped with 70% alcohol, and dried with a paper towel. The teats will be labeled with a unique identifier, and the skin and apical end of each teat will be scored, using the QMPS Teat Skin Condition and QMPS Teat End Condition score charts. Teat scores will be recorded. The assay will be conducted on a minimum of 10 teats per treatment, with an equal number of teats used per treatment. All 10 replications of a treatment will not take place at one time; instead, a complete run of the assay (using all treatments) should be completed before the subsequent run is initiated. So, the number teats in each run will equal the number of study treatments. The rinsate from all teats will be evaluated for bacterial activity and for total iodide. The Data produced from this assay should be entered into a database containing the following variables; teat ID, treatment, run, skin condition, and cfu/ml for each organism. The data will be analyzed for each organism and group of organisms. The final internal report, to the sponsor, will contain the following sections:executive summary,materials and methods, results, conclusions, original data, statistical analysis files, original protocol and agreement, notes and communications.