Mramba Rosemary Peter, Mohamed Mustafa Atway
Department of Biology, The University of Dodoma, P. O. Box 338, Dodoma, Tanzania.
Heliyon. 2024 Jul 4;10(13):e34122. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e34122. eCollection 2024 Jul 15.
Bovine mastitis is among the major diseases of economic importance in the dairy industry worldwide. Hygienic conditions during milking and housing are important determinants of mastitis infections. However, arid and semi-arid areas have a scarcity of water, which is an essential component of cleanliness. Thus, the study determined the prevalence of mastitis and associated factors in Dodoma, a semi-arid region in Tanzania. Three hundred and sixty-eight lactating cows were selected randomly from 114 farms in the Dodoma urban district for mastitis determination based on clinical signs and the California Mastitis Test. About 59.8 % of the cows had mastitis, and the subclinical type dominated. Factors associated with mastitis prevalence were cleanliness (hand and udder washing before milking), farmers' awareness of mastitis, the cow's parity and lactation stage, and herd size. Milk yield was not associated with the mastitis status of the cow but was related to the breed of the cow, whether warm or cold water was used to wash the cow's udder, parity, and lactation stage. Improvement in education on the importance of hygiene is necessary, as 38.6 % of the farmers were unaware of mastitis. Further detailed studies on microbiology, such as bacteriologic culture and polymerase chain reaction, are recommended to formulate interventions.
牛乳腺炎是全球乳制品行业中具有重要经济意义的主要疾病之一。挤奶和饲养期间的卫生条件是乳腺炎感染的重要决定因素。然而，干旱和半干旱地区缺水，而水是清洁的重要组成部分。因此，该研究确定了坦桑尼亚半干旱地区多多马乳腺炎的患病率及相关因素。从多多马市区的114个农场中随机挑选了368头泌乳奶牛，根据临床症状和加利福尼亚乳腺炎检测来确定乳腺炎情况。约59.8%的奶牛患有乳腺炎，且以亚临床型为主。与乳腺炎患病率相关的因素有清洁程度（挤奶前洗手和清洗乳房）、农民对乳腺炎的认知、奶牛的胎次和泌乳阶段以及牛群规模。产奶量与奶牛的乳腺炎状况无关，但与奶牛品种、清洗奶牛乳房时使用温水还是冷水、胎次和泌乳阶段有关。由于38.6%的农民不了解乳腺炎，因此有必要加强关于卫生重要性的教育。建议进一步开展微生物学方面的详细研究，如细菌培养和聚合酶链反应，以制定干预措施。
