Abstract

A COMPREHENSIVE AND ILLUSTRIOUS REVIEW ON CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC ASPECTS OF MASTITIS INFECTION IN HIGH YIELDING LACTATING CATTLE

Subha Ganguly*

Abstract

Mastitis the chronic inflammation of the mammary gland of cattle and can have infectious and non-infectious etiology. It is characterized by physical, chemical and usually bacteriological changes in the milk and pathological changes in the glandular tissue of the udder and affects quality and quantity of milk. Mastitis is usually caused by bacteria that invade the udder, multiply and produce toxins which are harmful to the mammary gland. Bovine mastitis is a multi-etiopathogenic condition of mammary gland affecting dairy cows and remains the most economically important disease of dairy industries around the world. It is characterized by physical, chemical and microbiological changes in the milk and pathological changes in the glandular tissues of the udder. The changes in the milk include changes of colour, consistency and presence of abnormally large number of leukocytes. Production per cow due to the clinical and subclinical prevalence of mastitis is usually recognized as the main pathway in causing the economic losses due to the disease. The present exclusive review encompasses the clinical and diagnostic overview on mastitis recognized as an immensely important economically significant disease in cattle resulting to production loss.

Keywords: Cattle, Clinical, Mastitis, Diagnosis, Etiology, Subclinical.