Effect of management practices and animal age on incidence of mastitis in Nili Ravi buffaloes

Abstract

Buffalo is an economically important dairy animal in South Asia but mostly ignored in research priorities. In this retrospective study, the effect of management practices and age of animal on the incidence of mastitis in Nili Ravi buffaloes was investigated. A total of 1,560 quarters of buffaloes (n = 390) were screened by visual examination of the udder and milk (clinical mastitis) and California mastitis test (subclinical mastitis). Household data was collected on a predesigned questionnaire and analyzed. The prevalence of subclinical mastitis, clinical mastitis, and blind quarters was 41.8, 13.6, and 9.7 %, respectively. The highest prevalence was noted in the hind quarters and left side as compared to that in the forequarters and right side. This data significantly (p < 0.05) supported the idea that larger herd size has more chances of mastitis, with the highest prevalence (40, 32, and 27 %) in the large, medium, and small herds, respectively. Stage of lactation was significantly (p < 0.01) involved in mastitis, and the highest incidence (43.3 %) was noted in early lactation. Milk production of lactating buffaloes that ranged 6-10 l/day showed a higher rate of mastitis occurrence (p < 0.05). The cleanliness condition of a farm also contributed significantly. Animal age significantly affected the incidence of mastitis. Results revealed that age of the animal has a positive correlation (R (2) = 0.772) with mastitis. This study concluded that some factors alone or in combination with other factors influence significantly the occurrence of mastitis, and to minimize the infection, these factors should be considered. The outcome of the study will be valuable for policy-making for positive management practices and implementation of preventive measures.

ESBL-Producing Escherichia coli from Cows Suffering Mastitis in China Contain Clinical Class 1 Integrons with CTX-M Linked to ISCR1

“…Interestingly, the majority of ESBL-producing E. coli (23 isolates) were recovered from herds in Inner Mongolia province possibly linked to dense farming (2.37 million dairy cows) with the largest dairy herds in this province (Dou, 2014). Dense farming is significantly correlated with the incidence of bovine mastitis (Ali et al, 2014), and mastitis is the main reason for frequent and prolonged use of antibiotics that exert selective pressure for emergence and dissemination of resistant isolates (Berge et al, 2005). Our results revealed that CTX-M, mainly the CTX-M-15, was the most prevalent genotype, followed by TEM and SHV.…”

Serodetection Bovine Herpesvirus Types 1, 4 and Bovine Parainfluenza Virus Type 3 Infections in Milk of Cows with Clinical Mastitis Based in Dairy Cattle Management in Turkey

“…Çetin and Alan [35] encountered mastitis cases in 125 right front, 113 right rear, 116 left fronts and 125 left rear udder lobes of cows. Ali et al [36] found clinical mastitis cases in right front mammary lobes of buffaloes at a rate of 19.29%, 26.32% in right rear mammary lobes, 12.28% in left front mammary lobes and 34.21% in left rear mammary lobes.…”

Occurrence and Risk Factors Associated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis in Milk Samples from North East of Pakistan

“…The present study also evaluated the risk factors associated with bovine tuberculosis and concluded that the large herd size (usually ≥10 animals) substantially involved in the high prevalence rate of disease. Moreover, the managemental practices are more difficult in larger herds as compared to smaller herd sizes and ultimately have more possibilities for transmission and spreading of infectious diseases (Ali et al, 2014). A larger herd size of animals has a significantly positive impact of diseases on animal health (Bilal et al, 2004;Ali et al, 2014).…”

“…Moreover, the managemental practices are more difficult in larger herds as compared to smaller herd sizes and ultimately have more possibilities for transmission and spreading of infectious diseases (Ali et al, 2014). A larger herd size of animals has a significantly positive impact of diseases on animal health (Bilal et al, 2004;Ali et al, 2014). Similarly, milk yield of dairy animals showed significant effects on disease occurrence.…”