Relationship between environmental bacteria and clinical and subclinical mastitis in two different dairy housing systems(indoor and outdoor)‎ in Gharbia Governorate

Abstract EN

The incidence of environmental mastitogenic pathogen in relation to contagious and minor ones in two different housing systems was com-pared in El-Gharbia Governorate.

This study was carried out between December2004 and March 2005 on smallholder dairy herds.

The study objectives were to establish the prevalence of environmental mastitis and related risk bacterial indicators, and to assess the effect of housing on it.

The first farm (group 1) contains 54 cattle; twelve of them had subclinical mastitis and 11 clinical mastitis.

In this farm the cattle were reared and milked in the same house with concrete walls and floor with soil bedding.

While, the other (group 2) contained 107 cattle, 18 of them had subclinical mastitis and 24 clinical mastitis.

In this farm, animals were milked in the parlour with ceramic walls.

Each animal was milked twice a day manually without premilking udder disinfection.

Washing of the udder occurred in the second farm.

Milk samples were taken to determine pathogens as well as 140 environmental samples (air, walls, soil, utensils, milker,s hands, teat apices and water) were collected.

The results revealed that the incidence of mastitis in group 1 is 42.59 % (environmental bacteria33.33% contagious bacteria 18.52% minor pathogen16.67%) While in group 2 is 39.25% (environ-mental bacteria 29.91% contagious bacteria10.28%minor pathogen 13.08%).

The most prevalent pathogen in mastitic cows and the envir-onment were Escherichia coli followed by Staphylococcus aureus .The extent of bacterial contamination in the environment of housing systems constitutes the main source of pathogenic and potentially pathogenic microorganisms.

The risk bacterial indicators for the environmental and contagious cases of mastitis in dairy herds in confinement housing were higher than that of cattle in yard with parlour housing.

The hygi-enic measures for dairy farms were discussed.