A. Breed
Risk of mastitis varies from breed to breed. High yielding cows are generally considered to be more susceptible to intramammary infection e.g. Holstein Frisian (HF), Jersey or HF and Jersey cross bred dairy cows are more susceptible to mastitis than Desi (Zebu) breeds of cows (Sharma, 2003). It might be due to more resistance to disease and they are low milk producer than cross bred cows. Increased risk of clinical mastitis in Friesian compared with Jersey. This trend is also increased over time as a result from the successful selection …show more content…
When cows are housed or grazed in heavily stocked paddocks, external udder surfaces are usually grossly contaminated with bacteria even when they appear visibly clean. Dirty udder and teats may result from dirty stalls; manure and bedding that will infect the udder and cause mastitis. The use of high concentrate diets has been associated with looser feces and reductions in cow and facility cleanliness(Elbers et al., 1998; Reneau et al., 2003). Several studies have identified relationships between cleanliness of udder and teats and measures of mastitis (Barkema et al., 1998; Reneau et al., 2003). Somatic cell score of cows with cleaner udders and lower rear legs was lower than SCS of cows with dirtier udders and legs, indicating that dirty cows had a higher prevalence of clinical mastitis (Reneau et al., 2003). In an investigation in 14 herds in England, it has been demonstrated that although teat dipping reduced the new infection rate by 50% over a period of 12 months, the prevalence of all intra-mammary infection (IMI) decreased by only 14%. Antimicrobial therapy for all dry cows at the end of lactation was proposed to eliminate existing infections; such therapy has been proved to be an effective complement to post- milking teat dipping(Dodd et al.,