The presence of pathogens in milk of ewes in relation to the somatic cell count and subpopulations of leukocytes

Kristína Tvarožková, Jaromír Vašíček, Michal Uhrinčať, Lucia Mačuhová, Lukáš Hleba and Vladimír Tančin
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Kristína Tvarožková: Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovak Republic
Jaromír Vašíček: National Agricultural and Food Centre, Research Institute for Animal Production Nitra, Lužianky, Slovak Republic
Michal Uhrinčať: National Agricultural and Food Centre, Research Institute for Animal Production Nitra, Lužianky, Slovak Republic
Lucia Mačuhová: National Agricultural and Food Centre, Research Institute for Animal Production Nitra, Lužianky, Slovak Republic
Lukáš Hleba: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovak Republic
Vladimír Tančin: Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovak Republic

Czech Journal of Animal Science, 2021, vol. 66, issue 8, 315-322

Abstract: Mastitis is a major health problem of the udder in dairy sheep breeds. For diagnosis of subclinical mastitis, somatic cell count (SCC) is commonly used. The presence of pathogens in the udder causes the increase of leukocytes and thus SCC in milk. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of pathogens in the milk of ewes and the possible relationship with SCC. The changes of leukocytes subpopulation in milk samples with high SCC were evaluated as well. The experiment was carried out on a dairy farm with the Lacaune breed. This study was conducted on 45 ewes (98 milk samples) without signs of clinical mastitis. Based on somatic cell count, samples were divided to five SCC groups: SCC1 < 200 000 cells/ml (45 milk samples); 200 000 ≤ SCC2 < 400 000 cells/ml (10 milk samples); 400 000 ≤ SCC3 < 600 000 cells/ml (six milk samples); 600 000 ≤ SCC4 < 1 000 000 cells/ml (six milk samples); SCC5 ≥ 1 000 000 cells/ml (31 milk samples). No pathogens were observed in the majority of milk samples (60.20%). Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) were the most commonly isolated pathogens from the milk of ewes (86.11%). Staphylococcus epidermidis had the highest incidence from CNS (35.48%). In the SCC5 group, up to 79.31% of bacteriological samples were positive. The percentage of leukocytes significantly increased (P < 0.001) in the samples with higher SCC (≥ 200 × 103 cells/ml) in comparison to the group SCC1. Also, the percentage of polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) was significantly higher with increasing SCC (P < 0.001). In conclusion, the presented results showed that the high SCC was caused by the presence of the pathogen in milk. Thus SCC < 200 000 cells/ml and leukocyte subpopulation, especially PMNs, could be considered as important tools in udder health programs applied in dairy ewes.

Keywords: sheep; mastitis; flow cytometry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:66:y:2021:i:8:id:43-2021-cjas

DOI: 10.17221/43/2021-CJAS

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