Efficacy of udder disinfectants on reduction of bacterial load and certain pathogens of public health significance

A study was carried out to know the efficacy of four udder disinfectants on number of the total bacterial, staphylococcal, streptococcal and coliform bacteria count on teats prior to milking. The five udder preparations applied viz., ‘Washing with water’, ‘0.25% Iodine’, ‘Chlorine’, ‘Sodium dichloro isocyanurate’ and ‘Glutarldehyde solution’ for five days to five milch cows. Teats were swabbed before and after application of udder preparations. Immediately after teat swabbing was completed, the swabs were placed in individual sterile test tubes containing of normal saline solution. Later, the swabs were plated unto Plate count agar, Mannitol salt agar (Staphylococcus spp.), Edwards medium (Streptococcus spp.) and MacConkey agar (coliform) and incubated for bacterial counts. Total bacteria count on teats in all treatments resulted in significant reduction (P 0.05) in coliform count due to any of the udder preparations. It was concluded that the use of some udder disinfectants for pre-milking udder preparation will have beneficial effects in reducing the levels of staphylococcal, streptococcal and total bacterial counts on teats. Keywords: Efficacy, udder disinfectants, bacterial load, public health significance.