BACKGROUND

Bovine mastitis (BM) is a costly disease in the dairy industry. It is associated with reduced milk production and changes in milk composition and quality. is the most important pathogen causing BM.

AIM

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of lactoferrin (LF) as an enhanced agent when combined with marbofloxacin for the treatment of BM.

METHODS

Eighty lactating cattle and buffaloes, 40 each, aged 4-6 years suffering from BM underwent clinical examination. Milk samples were collected for bacteriological examination. The recovered isolates were subjected to serological, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. BM cases were allocated into two groups: group (A) was treated with marbofloxacin combined with LF, and group (B) was treated with marbofloxacin alone.

RESULTS

Fifty isolates were recovered. Six serogroup were identified: O55, O103, O26, O11, O44, and O124. All isolates were sensitive to marbofloxacin, while there was resistance to gentamycin and ampicillin (26% each), cefquinome (14%), cefixime (10%), and SuLFamethoxazole and trimethoprim (4%). The molecular identification of strains revealed that the gene was present in all identified strains (100%). All isolates resistant to antibiotics encoded BlaTEM, , the gene was not detected in any isolate. The broth dilution method did not detect growth when the marbofloxacin (6 μg/ml) was combined with LF (2 mg/ml). Group (A) showed significant improvements compared with group (B), with no recurrence rate.

CONCLUSION

LF can serve as a significant cotreatment agent for treating BM. As antibiotic resistance increases, LF-based drugs could play an important role in providing sustainable, effective alternatives for dairy animals.