Occurrence and aetiology of subclinical mastitis in water buffalo in Bangladesh

Abstract

Subclinical mastitis (SCM) in water buffalo is a production disease associated with decreased milk yield and impaired milk quality and safety. Water buffalo is an important livestock species in Bangladesh, but information about the occurrence and aetiology of SCM in this species is scarce. A cross-sectional study was conducted as part of the Udder Health Bangladesh Programme to (i) determine the occurrence of SCM and bulk milk somatic cell count (SCC) in water buffalo in Bangladesh, (ii) identify pathogens causing SCM and (iii) evaluate penicillin resistance in isolated staphylococci strains. Sixteen buffalo farms in the Bagerhat and Noakhali regions of Bangladesh were selected for study and a bulk milk sample was collected from each farm. In addition, 299 udder quarter milk samples were collected from 76 animals. The bulk milk samples were assessed by direct SCC and the quarter milk samples by California mastitis test (CMT). The occurrence of SCM calculated at quarter and animal level was 42.5 and 81.6%, respectively. Milk samples from 108 CMT-positive quarters in 48 animals and 38 randomly selected CMT-negative quarters in 24 animals were investigated using bacteriological culture. Estimated mean bulk milk SCC was 195 000 cells/ml milk (range 47 000– 587 000 cells/ml milk). On culture, estimated quarter-level intramammary infection (IMI) was 40.4%. The identity of isolated bacteria was confirmed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Non-aureus staphylococci (NAS) were the most common pathogens (24.7%) and, among 36 NAS tested, 36.1% were resistant to penicillin. Thus there was high occurrence of SCM on the study farms, with relatively high penicillin resistance in NAS. Further studies are needed to identify underlying risk factors and develop an udder health control strategy for water buffalo in Bangladesh.

Staphylococcus microti Strains Isolated from an Italian Mediterranean Buffalo Herd

“…Our rate of 11% SCM agrees with values between 5 and 20% that were reported by Joshi and Gokhale [33]. In contrast, the percentage of IMI cases that we detected was 62%, a percentage higher than the 40.4% reported by Singha et al [34] but closer to the value of 63% reported by Moroni et al [5].…”

Integrated Bacteria-Fungi Diversity Analysis Reveals the Gut Microbial Changes in Buffalo With Mastitis

“…Mastitis is a common disease in buffalos that seriously affects milk production and animal health, causing enormous economic loss (23). However, multiple factors, including pathogen infection, unclean environment, nutritional deficiency, and stress reaction, cause mastitis to be difficult to control (23)(24)(25).…”

“…Mastitis is a common disease in buffalos that seriously affects milk production and animal health, causing enormous economic loss (23). However, multiple factors, including pathogen infection, unclean environment, nutritional deficiency, and stress reaction, cause mastitis to be difficult to control (23)(24)(25). A gut microbial community containing trillions of microorganisms has been demonstrated to be a complex and interactive ecosystem that participates in the positive regulation of host metabolism and health (22,26).…”

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry in veterinary medicine: Recent advances (2019–present)

“…Follow-up genome analysis revealed that the authors had identified a novel Streptococcus species. Singha et al [32] attacked the issue of mastitis in water buffalo through MALDI-TOF biotyping. While clinical mastitis can often be diagnosed by observable changes in the milk quality, udder, and condition of animals, subclinical mastitis remains undetectable in most cases due to lack of obvious clinical signs.…”