As part of efforts to boost the dairy value chain across the globe, the Ashish Life Science (ALS) an international based firm organized a one day webinar session to sensitize livestock farmers on Mastitis – a bacterial infection affecting the udder of dairy animals thereby reducing their productivity.
Speaking during a webinar on Tuesday, a Veterinary doctor with over 22 years of experience in the field, Dr. Konstantin Popov decried that mastitis is a very expensive problem in the livestock business and must be treated with utmost urgency.
According to him, the bacteria “attach” to the inner surface of the nipple, penetrate into the alveoli and multiply forming colonies. Toxins destroy the alveoli, substances that increase the penetrating ability of blood vessels enter the blood, then serum (leukocytes) of the blood enter the alveoli and fight bacteria and weaken the action of toxins.
He noted that there are certain factors that could cause mastitis: non-compliance with milking technology, unsatisfactory living conditions for animals, damage of the nipples skin, lack of udder condition control before dry period, lack of disinfection after milking, Violations in the operation of milking equipment, pathogenic and conditionally pathogenic microorganisms.
However, some of the ways to detect mastitis physically include cleaning the first streams california mastitis test CMIT, somatic cell counting (DCC device), electrical conductivity, isolation of pathogens from milk.
Dr Popov further urged livestock farmers to maintain proper hygiene as mastitis poses a big threat to dairy production, it oftentimes lead to rejection of animals, rejection of milk, decrease in milk production amongst others.
He also encouraged farmers across the world to comply with zoo hygiene standards, sanitary conditions, pre milk processing routine and the use of appropriate milking equipment at all times.