Microbiological monitoring of the prevalence of mastitis in cows in livestock farms among different regions of Ukraine during 2018–2022

Abstract

Milk and dairy products are one of the most important raw materials that play a vital role in the nutritional structure of the Ukrainian population. The safety and quality of raw milk is the basis for dairy production. In view of the above, there is a need to conduct microbiological tests of milk samples from cows to detect mastitis. The issues of determining the somatic cell count (SCC), bacterial contamination (BCM), Escherichia coli bacteria (ECB), and the quantitative species composition of pathogenic microorganisms are relevant, as they provide an opportunity to assess the epizootic situation regarding the prevalence of cow mastitis in livestock farms in different regions of Ukraine, to establish the dominant etiological factors that cause mastitis, and to prescribe treatment and preventive measures to prevent further deterioration of the situation. The results of our microbiological monitoring studies on the prevalence of cow mastitis showed a trend towards an increase in their number, as evidenced by an increase in the SCC from 12% in 2018 to 41.5% in 2021; an increase in BCM from 8.1% to 37.3%, respectively. For the period from 2018 to 2021 inclusive, the number of pathogenic bacteria of the coccal group, in particular Staphylococcus spp. (80.0% of all isolates), Streptococcus spp. (28.1%, respectively), confirmed their main role in the formation of external and internal etiological factors that cause udder lesions in cows In terms of the number of detected ECB, there was a tendency to reduce, which indicates a decrease in their impact on the etiological factors that provoke mastitis in cows. The test results for 2022 showed a sharp drop in the delivery of milk samples for microbiological testing, which was due to the impact of political, social, economic, and other factors on the livestock industry due to military aggression in Ukraine.