Abstract
Mastitis is the major problem of dairy animals despite a number of preventive and
therapeutic approaches. Treatment is costly and out of reach of farmers of developing
countries like India. The treatment cost of bovine mastitis with conventional treatment
has been calculated. Good results have been claimed with homeopathic treatment however,
treatment costs are not available. This article reports the treatment economics of
homeopathic drugs conventional drugs for the management of bovine mastitis.
Ninety-six mastitic quarters (non-fibrosed 67 and fibrosed 29) were treated with a
homeopathic combination medicine. Another 96 quarters with acute mastitis (non-fibrosed)
treated with different antibiotics were included in the study. The animals were selected
from dairy farm of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute and from private dairy
farms. The overall effectiveness of homeopathic combination medicine in the treatment
of acute non-fibrosed mastitis was 86.6% with a mean recovery period of 7.7 days (range
3–28), and total cost of therapy as Indian Rupees 21.4 (€0.39, US$0.47). The corresponding
cure rate for the antibiotic group was 59.2% with a mean recovery period of 4.5 days
(range 2–15) and an average treatment cost of Rs.149.20 (€2.69, US$3.28). We conclude
that the combination of Phytolacca, Calcarea fluorica., Silica, Belladonna, Bryonia, Arnica, Conium and Ipecacuanha (Healwell VT-6) was effective and economical in the management of mastitis in lactating
dairy cows.
Keywords
antibiotics - bovine - comparative efficacy - homeopathy - mastitis - treatment cost
