The original proposal included two experiments:
1) a double blind on two farms (the Nova Scotia Agricultural College dairy herd and Herman Mentink's herd);
2) a testing of the homeopathic preparation vs antibiotic in three commercial dairy herds, Banks', Jackson's and DeNuke's. The double blind experiment was not carried out.
The Nova Scotia Agricultural College withdrew the offer of the dairy herd for the project. Mentink's herd was withdrawn because the farmer had second thoughts and proposed to include in the experiment only cows that had a low Somatic Cell Count; this would invalidate the results.
Therefore, the project was modified and consisted of the following parts:
I. Comparison of a homeopathic preparation (nosode) of autogenous mastitis causing organisms to dry cow antibiotic formulas for the prevention of mastitis in dairy cattle in three commercial dairy herds.
II. Evaluation of the effect of homeopathic therapy on the SCC of lactating cows in one commercial dairy herd.
III. Treatment of chronic mastitis in lactating dairy cows (Case report).
This study did not detect any differences in the SCC in the postpartum in cows treated either with antibiotic or nosode. The farm seems to be a very important factor in the level of SCC. A larger sample size is required to draw a more solid conclusion regarding the comparative efficacy of an autogenous nosode in the prevention of mastitis in the postpartum.
