MASTITIS CONTROL IN DAIRY ANIMALS

Milk is one of the most important foods of human beings. It is universally recognized as a complete diet due to its essential components (Javaid et al., 2009). Its quality is being deteriorated by mastitis. Mastitis is the most important and expensive disease of dairy industry. It results in severe economic losses from reduced milk production, treatment cost, increased labor, milk withheld following treatment and premature culling (Miller et al., 1993). Globally, the losses due to mastitis amount to about 53 billon dollars annually (Ratafia 1987). It is recognized that if this disease is diagnosed in early stages, the greater portion of this loss can be avoided. This disease is characterized by physical, chemical and bacteriological changes in the milk and pathological changes in the glandular tissue of the udder. The most important changes in the milk include discoloration, presence of clots and presence of large number of leukocytes. The bacterial contamination of milk from the affected cows render it unfit for human consumption, as it can provide a mechanism of spread of diseases like tuberculosis, sore-throat, brucellosis and leptospirosis, and has zoonotic importance. Compared to developed countries, mastitis is a major problem in the dairy industry of developing countries like Pakistan. This paper summarizes the guidelines for the mastitis control in dairy animals