Mastitis

The Mastitis is a common disease that affects the milk quality in cattle. It leads to inflammation of mammary gland.

About Mastitis

It is caused due to microorganism infections. It is one of the most common disease that leads to economic losses in the diary industries. The estimated loss due to mastitis is 147 USD per cow per year.

Types of Mastitis

There are three types of mastitis based on the degree of inflammation. They are clinical, sub-clinical and chronic mastitis. The clinical mastitis is easily detected by visible abnormalities. They are fever, red and swollen udder. Also, the milk of the cow is watery with clots. The clinical mastitis is fatal. It shows no visible abnormalities. However, the milk production decreases. The chronic mastitis lasts for several months.

Pathogens causing Mastitis

Bacteria is the most common microorganism causing mastitis. They cause infections in two ways. They are contagious and environmental infections. There are bacteria in the udder of the cows. These bacteria colonize and grow into teat canal. This is generally referred to as contagious mastitis. The contagious mastitis can be controlled by proper maintenance of milking equipment, culling, post-milking teat disinfection and dry cow therapy. The other type is environmental infections. The pathogens in the bedding enter the cow’s udder. This generally happens when the immune system of the cow is weak.

Concerns

In India, farmers use antibiotics to treat mastitis. These antibiotics often include Critically Important Antibiotics (CIA). The WHO has warned against the use of CIA in the view of increasing antibiotic resistance. The farmers sell the milk of the animals that are under treatment. By this, the antibiotics in the milk is consumed by the users. This increases the chances of antibiotic residues. The main reason behind the issue is that the antibiotics are easily available. The farmers can get these antibiotics without a prescription of registered veterinarian doctor.

Mastirak Gel

In October 2021, Gujarat based farmer developed a Gel to treat mastitis. The gel was developed from poly-herbal and cost-effective medicines. The gel was reinvigorated by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF). The NIF has developed a value-added commercial product called “Mastirak” based on the farmer’s idea.