MILK Symposium review: Improving control of mastitis in dairy animals in Nepal

Abstract

Dairy animals are an important source of income, food, and nutritional security, and improvements in the productivity of dairy animals substantially improve the wellbeing of smallholder dairy farmers. As in other developing countries, dairy animals are key for rural livelihoods in Nepal but often suffer from mastitis-a production disease causing economic losses to farmers, challenges to the dairy processing industry, and possible health hazards to consumers. Studies show that the prevalence of subclinical mastitis in Africa and Asia typically exceeds 50%, threatening animal wellbeing, farmers, dairy processors, and consumers. We conducted a study in Nepal to develop a technology training package to control mastitis in dairy animals. Following identification of knowledge gaps, a technology package consisting of (1) developing good husbandry practices, implementing mastitis detection and control technologies; and (2) training technicians and farmers was implemented. A strategy was subsequently established to provide feedback to farmers in dairy cooperatives on the subclinical mastitis status of their cows. The package was applied in the mid-western region of Nepal. Six months after implementation, we observed a reduction in subclinical mastitis prevalence: from 55% (baseline) to 28% (endline; n = 432) in dairy cows and from 78% to 18% (n = 216) in buffalo. These positive study outcomes strongly suggest that the mastitis technology training package should be scaled across smallholder farmers within and beyond Nepal to control mastitis in dairy animals.

The Inhibitory Efficiencies of Geraniol as an Anti-Inflammatory, Antioxidant, and Antibacterial, Natural Agent Against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection in vivo

“…According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, nearly one in seven patients contracting severe MRSA infections die. 18 With the spread of bacteria, MRSA has been found not only in human infectious diseases, but also in food and animal husbandry 19 , 20 (included cow mastitis caused by MRSA infection), 21 it caused great economic losses. Vancomycin, a glycopeptide antibiotic, was used for the treatment of MRSA infections for many years.…”

Does mastitis cause economic loss in dairy cattle in Nepal?

“…Mastitis reduces the milk production and also depreciates the quality of milk (Ogola et al 2007). The prevalence of sub clinical mastitis (SCM) in dairy animals ranges from 13.6 to 60% in different parts of Nepal and high incidence of both Clinical Mastitis (CM) and SCM is associated with poor adoption of good husbandry practices (GHP) (Sah et al 2020). According to Dhakal and Subedi (2002), Dhakal et al (2007), the prevalence of CM is up to 56% in cattle in Nepal.…”

Relationship Between Somatic Cell Counts and Mammary Gland Parenchyma Ultrasonography in Buffaloes

“…Although buffaloes are traditionally thought to be more resistant to mastitis than cows, some characteristics such as higher nutrient content in milk suitable for rapid microbial growth and pendulous udder with longer teats make buffaloes more prone to mastitis ( 2 ). In Nepal, the prevalence of subclinical mastitis is as high as 78% in buffalos and 55% in cows ( 4 ). Mastitis has a negative effect on milk composition (protein, fat, lactose, and mineral) ( 5 , 6 ), curdling ( 7 ), milk yield ( 7 ), and conception rate (suppression to both corpus luteum (CL) diameter and function) ( 8 ) in buffaloes.…”