Affiliation:
1. Veterinary Faculty, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece
Abstract
The objective of the present study was to propose thresholds of somatic cell counts in bulk-tank milk indicative of the prevalence of subclinical mastitis in a flock. A retrospective analysis was performed on data from a longitudinal survey of subclinical mastitis in Greece, in which the prevalence of subclinical mastitis in 12 flocks sampled four times throughout a milking period was evaluated by collecting milk samples from individual ewes for bacteriological and cytological testing; further, cell counts in the bulk-tanks of the farms were also measured during the visits. Four cohorts were created: A, with cell counts in the bulk-tank milk between 0.100 × 106 and 0.400 × 106 cells mL−1, B, with cell counts between 0.400 × 106 and 650 × 106 cells mL−1, C, with cell counts between 0.650 × 106 and 900 × 106 cells mL−1, and D, with SCC between 0.900 × 106 and 1.450 × 106 cells mL−1. There was a significant positive correlation between prevalence of the infection in the flocks and somatic cell counts in bulk-tank milk on the same sampling occasion (p < 0.0001). There was also evidence of significant differences between the four cohorts in the mean prevalence rate of the infection (p < 0.0001). Ninety-five percent confidence intervals of the prevalence of subclinical mastitis according to the somatic cell counts in the bulk-tank milk were calculated as follows: for cohort A, 8.7% to 12.1%, for B, 12.4% to 19.4%, for C, 22.5% to 30.8% and for D, 27.3% to 45.3%. The information that may be thus obtained can be useful in guiding the implementation of various health management procedures for mastitis control in sheep flocks, with no need to perform milk sample collection from ewes and subsequent laboratory examinations.
Subject
General Veterinary,Animal Science and Zoology
Reference13 articles.
1. Interpretation of cell concentration of individual cow milk for the diagnosis of intramammary infection status;Serieys;Annal. Recher. Veter.,1985
2. Evaluation of changes in somatic cell counts as indicators of new intramammary infections;Dohoo;Prev. Vet. Med.,1991
3. Physiological and pathological thresholds of somatic cell counts in ewe milk;Berthelot;Small Rumin. Res.,2006
4. Estimate of milk and curd yield loss of sheep and goats with intrammamary infection and its relation to somatic cell count;Leitner;Small Rumin. Res.,2008
5. Michael, C.K., Lianou, D.T., Vasileiou, N.G.C., Mavrogianni, V.S., Petinaki, E., and Fthenakis, G.C. (2023). Longitudinal study of subclinical mastitis in sheep in Greece: An investigation into incidence risk, associations with milk quality and risk factors of the infection. Animals, 13.
Cited by
1 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献