Factors associated with bacteriological cure after dry cow treatment of subclinical staphylococcal mastitis with antibiotics.

Data from five dry cow antibiotic therapy trials were analyzed. Records were only included for cows with > or = 1 culture-positive quarters that were subclinically infected with Staphylococcus aureus. Data for 406 quarters affected with S. aureus from 283 cows on 73 farms were analyzed for quarters, cows, and herds. The probability of cure of an infected quarter decreased when SCC increased, when another quarter was infected in the same cow, when the infection was in a hind quarter, and when the percentage of samples that were positive for S. aureus was higher before drying off. Variables predicting complete bacteriological cure of a cow were log SCC, age of the cow, and the number of infected quarters. The probability of a cure decreased as SCC increased. The probability of cure decreased as age increased, and cows with more than one quarter infected were .57 times less likely to be cured than cows with 1 infected quarter.