Learn: How to avoid udder problems in dairy cows

Mastitis and its control:

Inflammation of the mammary gland or udder is called mastitis. This inflammation is characterized by abnormal secretion of milk that contain pus, blood and will have different color than normal milk, it will also contain clots, flakes and the consistency will also be changed.

Udder

1.Causative agent:

The top Most common causative organism is bacteria. Bacteria like streptococcus, E-coli, mycoplasma, clostridium. The mastitis caused by E-coli is called summer mastitis.

The second most common causative organism is virus like cow pox virus and FMD virus.

The last and least common causative organism is fungi.

There chances or incidence of occurrence of the mastitis is very high in cattle and buffalo as compared to equine and camels.

2.Mastitis is an economically importance disease:

Value of milk loss about 70% (production loss)

Value of cow lost about 14%. the value of cow mean that when udder quarter of cow damage. when one quarter of udder damage about 25% of the cow price is lost for two is 50% and so on …. In case of selling cow for money.

Value of milk discarded 70%, in developed countries the milk is tested for leukocytes, if present they will discard that.

Veterinary services and treatment cost about 8%.

3.Type of mastitis:

There are two main type of mastitis:

A.Sub-clinical mastitis

B.Clinical mastitis

A.Sub-clinical mastitis:

Sub-clinical mastitis is more danger then clinical mastitis because there will be no change in milk color, consistency of udder but the disease will be present, the cow having sub-clinical mastitis will be a source of mastitis to other cow through hand milking and machine milking.

Cow with sub-clinical mastitis will produce less milk and during milking it stream of milk will be very thin, sub-clinical mastitis can only be diagnosed when milk sample is tested in lab for mastitis, a farmer must have to test his cow milk once or twice in a month for mastitis. The sub-clinical mmastitis change to clinical mastits when sufficient damage occur to the udder.

B.Clinical mastitis:

There will be Inflammation of udder, Hardness, Redness Pain in the udder, Flakes and clots in milk Change of milk color.

Note: when you had fresh milk and you heat or make tea of it, if it become clotty this show the advance stage of sub-clinical mastitis.

4.Classification of mastitis:

On the basis of its severity clinical mastitis has been classified into the following categories.

Per acute

Acute

Sub-acute

Chronic

Per acute:

In this case there will be severe inflammation of udder with systemic reaction like increase of the body temp 102 or 103 f, anorexia (stop eating), hardness, redness, hotness and animal will feel pain when the udder is touch.

Acute:

Severe inflammation of udder without systemic reaction and no body temp.

Sub-acute:

Mild inflammation with out any systemic reaction but there will be persistent abnormality in milk like flakes and clots but having white color.

Chronic:

The recurrent attack of the pathogens on same quarter with little change in milk for longer time, more than a month.

5.Field treatment:

This should not be for few days but it need a longer course of dosage, if the mastitis is not treated correctly the glandular cell will be destroyed and changed to fibrotic mass .

6.Pre disposing factors of mastitis:

The most common pre disposing factors are below.

Un-hygienic environment for animal:

very dirty shed having no ventilation system and wet floor increases the chances of occurrence of mastitis.

Trauma of udder:

A very minute injury to udder may lead to mastitis, there are three stages of development of mastitis.

Invasion of bacteria

Growth or reproduction of bacteria

Inflammation of toxin production

Chopping of the teats:

Either in hand milking or machine milking or during chewing of the cud by calf may causes injury theat lead the mastitis.

Presence of biting flies:

The biting flies may also causes injury.

Incomplete milking:

Irregular milking:

Animal should be milked after 12hrs.

Rough techniques of milking:

If you have long nail it must be removed otherwise it will produce injury to udder during milking.

Hot weather:

The thermal stress decreased the immunity that why the bacteria take advantages of low immunity.

Large udder or pendulus udder:

Due to hanging of udder it will be injured and increases the chances of mastitis.

Note :

The milk sample bacteria and animal should be tested of antibiotics resistivity, otherwise the bacteria may developed resistance and will be difficult to treat.

And if animal also show resistivity positive it may produce anaphylactic shock.

Clinical and sub-clinical positive cow must be milked in last to stop the spread of mastitis.