Weather effect on bacterial mastitis in dairy cows

Abstract

The study was carried out to determine the effect of seasons on bacterial mastitis in dairy cows. Three years health data from A and M Dairy Farm was analyzed to provide baseline information on the incidence and seasonal pattern of mastitis. Mean annual incidence of clinical mastitis at A and M dairy Farm was 16.5%. A clear pattern of higher incidence of mastitis was observed when the ambient temperature was less than 21°C in cold months during the whole study period (3 years) at A and M dairy Farm. In another study, milk samples of new case of mastitis from A and M dairy were examined for the presence of bacteria. The annual incidence of mastitis at the J. B. Dairy Farm was 14.4%. The annual pattern of incidence of mastitis in relation to ambient temperature was similar to that observed at A and M dairy Farm. Environmental and contagious mastitis pathogens were identified in 43.3% of the clinical mastitis cases and the coliform mastitis accounted for 21.1% of the clinical cases at J.B. Dairy Farm. However, out of 90 new cases of mastitis considered at the J.B. Dairy, 21.1% were infected with coliform bacteria, 12.2% with S. haemolyticus, 11.1% due to C. bovis, 10.0% with S. aqalactiae and 45.5% with other isolates. In conclusion, the coliform bacteria were the main cause of bacterial mastitis with higher incidence during the cold months. © 2009 Academic Journals Inc.