Abstract
The prevalence of bacterial isolation and the somatic cell count (SCC) of the milk from goats ( n=110 from six herds) and sheep ( n=153 from three herds) was determined at parturition and approximately 40 days later. Incidence of new intramammary infection (IMI) and the spontaneous cure rate were determined over this time period. In the goats, 27.3 and 25.5% were infected at parturition and 40 days later, respectively, while 15.0 and 9.1% of sheep were infected at parturition and 40 days later, respectively. Incidence of new infection was 0.039 and 0.034 cases/half/30 days for goats and sheep, respectively, and did not differ between the species ( P>0.2). Spontaneous cure occurred in 93.8% of sheep halves infected at parturition but only 50.0% of goat halves ( P<0.05). Coagulase negative staphylococci (CNS) were the most common isolates from both sheep and goats. Milk from bacteriologically positive halves had a significantly higher somatic cell count than halves from which no bacteria were isolated in both sheep and goats. It was concluded that bacterial infection of the mammary gland was associated with an elevated somatic cell count. Additionally, differences were detected between the species in incidence of new infection and spontaneous cure rate which resulted in a decline in prevalence in sheep, but not goats, with time postpartum.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.