Abstract
Mammary infections in livestock are a major problem which affects animal health, resulting in significant economic losses in the dairy industry. Among the factors which can mitigate or increase the rate of intramammary infections, udder morphology plays a substantial role. The somatic cell score (SCS) is commonly used as predictor in selection for mastitis resistance. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between SCS and udder traits in the Italian Mediterranean Buffalo (IMB). A total of 122,717 lactations, SCS and type traits (one composite trait and six linear traits) records from 16,627 primiparous buffalo cows were used. The relationship was investigated fitting two mixed models. Analysis of variance suggested that SCS were significantly (P>0.001) affected by both udder morphology and milk yield. Least square means clearly indicated that having a morphologically correct udder contributes significantly to reducing SCS level in milk.
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