Assessment of acoustic pulse technology (APT-X) compared to standard antibiotic treatment in the treatment of mastitis in Indian dairy cows – a multicentered trial

The paper reports application of acoustic pulse technology (APT) as a non-antibiotic treatment for dairy cows. This method distributes shock waves over a large area, triggering the body's natural self-healing mechanism. A study involving 107 cows with clinical symptoms or a CMT score of at least 1 in one or more quarters found that all APT treatment cows had CMT-negative results by day 15. In addition, the total milk of the treated cows increased by 35.4% on day 15. In contrast, 20 cows treated with antibiotics had four cows (20%) still CMT-positive on day 15, and their total milk increased by only 4.6% on day 15. During the 10 days of antibiotic treatment, 1740 kg of milk had to be discarded. Over a three-month period, the APT group saw an average milk gain of 43%, while the antibiotic group saw a decrease of 7% (including the discarded milk). This APT method had no reported side effects and improved cow welfare and udder health, offering the potential to produce antibiotic-free milk. Overall, APT-X treatment appeared to be a promising option for managing bovine mastitis without relying on antibiotics in Indian dairy farms.