Revolutionizing Bovine Mastitis Control: Prof. dr. Sarne De Vliegher's Innovative Approach

Bovine Mastitis?

Bovine mastitis, an inflammation of the mammary gland in response to invading mastitis pathogens causing intramammary infection, is an extremely relevant and prevalent disease for the dairy industry. It results in major economic losses, important animal welfare issues, food waste and massive antibiotic use. Non-antibiotic prevention and control through clever use of NAS at drying off, building further on the intriguing insights from a previous IOF-funded project, will be further validated. State-of-the-art genotyping and phenotypic testing will be combined to select a lead NAS isolate that will be tested by the experienced team in a large-scale clinical trial.

About the IOF-project

This research initiative to combat bovine mastitis through innovative non-antibiotic strategies is funded by the Industrial Research Fund (IOF). The research focus aims at revolutionizing mastitis prevention and control through strategic utilization of non-aureus staphylococci (NAS) during the dry period of dairy cows. This innovative approach holds promise for transforming the landscape of mastitis management in the dairy industry. Prof. De Vliegher's team will delve deeper into the potential of NAS as a non-antibiotic solution.

Since 2005, Prof. dr. Sarne De Vliegher has been teaching veterinary law, deontology and practice management at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Ghent University. In addition, he is heading M-teamUGent, his well-known research group focusing on bovine mastitis. Next, he is past-president of the US-based National Mastitis Council and is co-founder and partner of MEXTM, a Ghent University spinoff, focusing on making mastitis management easy worldwide.

Contact

Mteam Ghent University (in Dutch)

For scientific background: Prof. dr. Sarne De Vliegher 
If you want to in-license the technology: Dr. Sven Arnouts