Health of Dairy Cattle: Trends from the World Buiatrics Congress 2026

At the World Buiatrics Congress 2026 in Istanbul, we brought back not only new business contacts. The congress, attended by 3,560 professionals from around the world, primarily allowed us to compare our experiences with the latest insights in dairy cattle health.

As the only Czech exhibiting company, we presented the diagnostic solution ClearMilk. At the same time, we attended numerous expert lectures focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mastitis, responsible use of antibiotics, and modern methods of herd health management.

We have selected six main trends that we believe will influence the future of dairy farms.

1. Diagnosis moves as close as possible to the cow

One of the strongest messages from the congress was that the treatment of mastitis should increasingly be based on knowledge of its causative agent.

Professor Volker Krömker emphasized in his lecture that quality microbiological diagnostics are the foundation not only for choosing treatment but also for proper preventive measures. Distinguishing the species, and sometimes even the specific strain of bacteria, helps determine the source of the infection, the mode of its transmission, and the likelihood of successful treatment.[1]

The practical benefit of rapid diagnostics was demonstrated by a New Zealand field study involving 782 cases of mild to moderate clinical mastitis across 22 herds. The use of a test directly on the farm allowed for a median reduction in antibiotic consumption of 10.7%, without increasing the number of repeated treatments over the subsequent 60 days. A positive economic return was anticipated in 83% of simulations conducted.[2]

This conclusion is also supported by an extensive expert review published in the Journal of Dairy Science: selective treatment of non-severe cases based on rapid diagnostics can limit the use of antibiotics without negatively impacting udder health, welfare, or farm economic outcomes when properly set up.[3]

2. A responsible approach does not simply mean omitting antibiotics

A study that compared standard antibiotic treatment with the administration of ketoprofen as initial treatment for mild and moderate mastitis garnered significant attention.

In the group initially treated with ketoprofen, antibiotic doses were reduced by 86%. However, on the fifth day, lower clinical treatment success was recorded - 67.8% compared to 91.2% in the antibiotic group - along with a higher recurrence rate of mastitis over 60 days.[4]

The result is thus not an argument for the blanket replacement of antibiotics with anti-inflammatory agents. Rather, it highlights the importance of quickly identifying the causative agent and selecting cases where antibiotic treatment can be safely delayed or omitted.

For severe mastitis with systemic symptoms, the prompt initiation of appropriate treatment remains crucial. Selective approaches primarily concern non-severe cases and must always be part of a protocol set by a veterinarian.

3. Selective dry cow therapy becomes more precise

Another presented study monitored 1,386 quarters of udder from 355 cows in five herds. The combination of farm culture with the California Mastitis Test enabled a reduction in antibiotic use during drying off:

• by 53% at the quarter level decision-making,
• by 30.5% at the whole cow decision-making level.

No increased risk of new intramammary infections after calving was observed. All monitored quarters simultaneously received an internal teat sealant.[5]

It is thus not only about limiting antibiotics but about their targeted use in animals and quarters that truly need them.

4. Mastitis is not just the problem of a single sick quarter

New diagnostic methods show that effective prevention must be based on the epidemiology of the entire herd.

For infections caused by Streptococcus uberis, for instance, it was long assumed that transmission primarily occurred from the environment. However, research presented by Professor Krömker shows that during thermal stress, the number of bacteria in the milk of infected cows may increase, and the infection may also be transmitted more frequently between animals.

In some of the studied herds, up to 70% of clinical cases during the summer were caused by just three dominant strains. Therefore, along with environmental cleanliness, it is essential to enhance milking hygiene, disinfection of milking units, and management of chronically infected cows in such situations.[1]

It was also interesting to find that only approximately 11% of repeat mastitis cases were caused by the same bacterial strain as the previous case. A large portion of recurrences thus actually represented a new infection. The solution may not only be a change in treatment but primarily finding and eliminating the source of the new infection.

5. Vaccination has its place in integrated prevention

At ten Belgian dairy farms, the introduction of vaccination against the major causes of mastitis resulted in an average reduction in the use of intramammary antibiotic applicators during lactation by 32.8%.[6]

This was an observational before-and-after study, so the result cannot be interpreted as evidence that the change was solely caused by vaccination. The authors also emphasize that vaccination should be part of a broader program involving hygiene, diagnostics, monitoring, proper milking, and risk management on the farm.

The future of prevention does not lie in a single universal measure but in a thoughtful combination of multiple tools.

6. Artificial intelligence enters diagnostics

Researchers also presented the combination of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry with machine learning for predicting antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from mastitis cases.

Results varied depending on the bacteria and specific antibiotic but showed potential for quicker resistance estimation. At this stage, it serves as a supplementary research tool, not a replacement for standard sensitivity testing. The direction of development is clear: diagnostics will increasingly become faster, more accurate, and more integrated with data analysis.[7]

Inspiration from HIPRA: from individual vaccination to herd management

The satellite conference held by HIPRA on controlling viral diseases, particularly BVD, IBR, and BRSV, was also very interesting.

The main message was that modern prevention cannot be based solely on reacting to clinical diseases. It must combine biosecurity, diagnostics, regular monitoring, vaccination, and long-term tracking of virus circulation.

Attention was also drawn to marker vaccines and the DIVA principle, which allows differentiation between infected animals and vaccinated ones. This shifts the veterinarian's focus from addressing individual cases to data-driven health management of the entire herd.[8]

What do we take away from the congress?

We believe that the future of mastitis control will not be based on a single universal treatment scheme. It will rely on the integration of:

• effective prevention,
• quality sample collection,
• rapid identification of the causative agent,
• targeted treatment,
• responsible use of antibiotics,
• ongoing evaluation of the herd's situation.

This is also the direction in which we are developing the diagnostic solution ClearMilk – as practical support for the decision-making of veterinarians and farmers right in the field.

In addition to the professional program, we held a series of meetings with foreign partners in Istanbul. The CzechTrade Türkiye branch significantly assisted us during these meetings, for which we thank them for their professional support. We believe that the partnerships established will help expand the Czech diagnostic solution to other countries around the world.

Sources

[1] V. Krömker: Mastitis Pathogens and Preventive Mastitis Control. WBC 2026 E-Proceedings, Volume 1, pp. 181–184.
[2] R. Munn, K. E. DeFrees, E. Melchior: Evaluation of an on-farm mastitis diagnostic test to optimise antibiotic use under New Zealand pastoral conditions. WBC 2026 E-Proceedings, Volume 2, pp. 164–165.
[3] E. de Jong et al.: Invited review: Selective treatment of clinical mastitis in dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science, 2023.
[4] B. Trezzani et al.: Ketoprofen as the sole initial treatment for non-severe bovine mastitis: Efficacy and antibiotic reduction. WBC 2026 E-Proceedings, Volume 2, pp. 165–166.
[5] B. L. N. Garcia et al.: Evaluation of on-farm microbiological culture and California Mastitis Test as criteria for selective dry cow therapy. WBC 2026 E-Proceedings, Volume 2, pp. 170–171.
[6] D. Lieven et al.: Impact of mastitis vaccination on intramammary antibiotic consumption during lactation period in 10 Belgian commercial dairy farms. WBC 2026 E-Proceedings, Volume 2, pp. 56–57.
[7] M. Veiga Santos et al.: MALDI-TOF MS associated with machine learning models to predict antimicrobial resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from bovine mastitis. WBC 2026 E-Proceedings, Volume 2, pp. 169–170.
[8] R. A. Palomares et al.: Redefining viral control in cattle: New evidence, new tools and new ways of working. WBC 2026 E-Proceedings, Volume 1, pp. 344–345.