Vaccination strategies for mastitis.

Presently, the most successful use of vaccination strategies as part of a dairy herd mastitis control program involves GNCABs, of which the J-5 bacterins are best understood. Immunization protocols employing this technology should be adapted to individual herd needs. Ironically, the success of these bacterins may rely, in part, on the systemic pathogensis of severe coliform mastitis. Because immune function is impaired in the mammary gland of a lactating dairy cow, and the difficulty in maintaining effective concentrations of antibodies in milk following vaccination, vaccines developed against pathogens that cause more chronic IMI, while promising, have significant obstacles to overcome.