Abstract:
Mastitis is one of the most significant health problems of dairy herds as it causes physical, chemical and bacteriological changes in the milk of dairy animals resulting in inferior quality and quantity of milk with possible public health importance. The purpose of this study was helpful for stakeholders to design and to take appropriate action in order to tackle the risk of mastitis. A cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of bacterial mastitis and the associated potential risk factors in Assosa dairy farm. For this study, a total of 364 lactating cows were included. Data were collected by using a semi-structured questionnaire, physical examination of the udder and also Californian mastitis test was used. Different biochemical tests were also conducted to identify bacteria using appropriate media. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics was used to determine the prevalence of mastitis depending on clinical inspection and Californian mastitis test. Chi-square test was employed to see the impact of different risk factors on the occurrence of mastitis. Overall prevalence of mastitis was found to be 42.03% and the dominant bacterium were found to be Staphylococcus aureus (62.1%) followed by Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus (17.6%), Staphylococcus intermidius (14.4%) and Escherichia. coli (5.9%). Major exposing factors that leads to mastitis were previous exposure to mastitis, age, parity, and floor type. It is recommended that regular investigation of mastitis especially sub clinical form, should be practiced and susceptibility testing for the isolated microorganisms is very vital in controlling strategy.
