Occurence of Mastitis in Dairy Cows Situated in Marginal Parts of Slovakia

A relatively large part of the Slovak territory consists of the “marginal regions”, which in terms of the economy of ruminants keeping can efficiently produce animal commodities only occasionally. The geographic, social and economic stability of these regions is strongly influenced by the rearing of ruminants and the associated market milk production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and aetiological agents of mastitis in two herds of dairy cows situated in the marginal parts of Slovakia. In total, 530 of the Slovak spotted breed and Holstein cows were involved in the study. The diagnosis of mastitis was performed on the basis of the clinical examination of the udder, macroscopic evaluation of the milk, determination of somatic cell count (SCC), and the bacteriological examination of the milk. The prevalence of mastitis in the two herds of dairy cows ranged from 34.7 % to 18.8 %, respectively. From the total of 2120 quarter milk samples, 36.3 % were positive to the California mastitis test (CMT). Also, pathogenic microorganisms causing intramammary infection (IMI) were isolated from 25.6 % of the samples, which accounted for most subclinical mastitis forms (23.3 %), with the SCC under 400 000, mainly caused by coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) and coliform bacteria E. coli and Enterobacter aerogenes. The clinical forms of mastitis accounted for 13.0 % of all infected cows and were caused mainly by the bacteria: Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus aureus and coagulasenegative staphylococci

Mastitis Pathogens Isolated from Raw Milk Samples on Sheep Farms Situated in Marginal Parts of Slovakia

Relatively large parts of the Slovak territory are marginal regions, which in terms of the economy of ruminant rearing can effectively produce animal commodities only occasionally. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence and aetiology of mastitis during one milking season in two sheep dairy herds of 224 (A) and 270 (B) ewes situated in the marginal parts of Slovakia. A complex examination of health status of ewes based on: the clinical examination of the udder, macroscopic evaluation of milk with the California mastitis test (CMT) and the bacteriological analysis of raw milk samples from individual halves were carried out at the beginning (April) and at the end (September) of the milking season. The prevalence of intramammary infection (IMI) in the herds of ewes (A and B) were 19.1 % and 14.3 %, respectively. In both herds we confirmed predominantly the subclinical forms of IMI. The highest percentages of aetiological agents were determined for coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS), such as Staphylococcus chromogenes, Staphylococcus schleiferi, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus xylosus, Staphylococcus piscifermentans and Staphylococcus intermedius, the occurrences of which were determined in 41 (48.2 %) and 37 (47.9 %) positive milk samples, respectively

The Impact of Mastitis on Reproductive Parameters of Dairy Cows

The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of mastitis and its impact on the reproductive parameters in a herd of 180 dairy cows. Based on the herd records 127 cows of Slovak spotted cattle and their crosses with red Holstein were selected for study between 1—2 months after calving. The examination of the health status of the mammary glands consisted of: the clinical examination of the udder, the California mastitis test (CMT) supplemented by the collection of mixed milk samples, and the laboratory examination of bacterial pathogens causing the mastitis. In addition to the mam­mary investigation, reproduction indicators such as the length of the insemination interval, the service period, the intercalving period and the insemination index were also analyzed. The results of this study indicated: a high incidence of mastitis (41.6 %), especially latent (21.2 %), subclinical (15.7 %) and clinical (4.7 %) forms were most common in the herd. The most frequently isolated bacteria from the infected milk samples were: coagulase negative staphylococci (54.1 %), S. aureus (16.9 %), Streptococcus spp. (15.0 %), A. viridans (7.5 %) and Ent. faecalis (6.4 %). According to the available literature, the optimum values of the intercalving period were 365—400 days, the insemination interval 55—80 days, the insemination index 1.2—2 and the service period 60—110 days. In comparison, our results showed increased, unsatisfactory reproductive values in the group of dairy cows with clinical mastitis. While in healthy cows as well as in groups of cows with latent and subclinical mastitis, all of the reproductive indicators were within the optimal levels