Management Practices of Bovine Mastitis and Milk Quality on Egyptian Dairies

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Dairy farms vary in their management practices, which may affect the incidence of mastitis and milk quality. The current study aims to describe different management practices in Egyptian dairies that may influence mastitis and milk quality. An in-person survey was conducted on 20 randomly selected Egyptian dairies. The questionnaire included questions about herd demographics, mastitis status and control, milking practices, and management practices of the study dairies. Most of the surveyed dairies had less than 500 lactating cows, with Holstein as the main cow breed. The average milk production in the study herds was 31.1 (SE ± 1.10) Kg/cow/day with open lots as the pen design for housing of lactating, dry, and close-up cows. Most of the study dairies milked their cows three times per day with herringbone as the most common parlor design. The study dairies used iodine as the most common disinfectant for both pre- and post-milking teat dip, with more than 50% of the dairies reporting that their milkers wore gloves during milking. The study dairies followed different milk quality management practices with 95% having reported inspection of udder health through visual inspection, 87% inspected udder hygiene score, and 72% inspected teat end scores. The diagnosis of subclinical mastitis was performed on 55% of the study dairies using CMT. Mastitis was reported at 52% of the milking herd, with 45.2% of the study herds having reported contagious mastitis pathogens. The main source for replacements was through importation of pregnant heifers. ABSTRACT: Milk production continues to be the main source of income for dairy producers, and mastitis continues to be the major health challenge for dairy cows worldwide. The objective of the current study was to describe the different management practices implemented in Egyptian dairies, which may influence mastitis and improve milk quality. An in-person survey was completed with herd managers and owners of 20 Egyptian dairies selected using a stratified random sample from four of Egypt’s milk sheds. The questionnaire included 80 questions that inquired about herd demographics, mastitis status and control, milking practices, and management practices of the study dairies. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, multiple factor analysis (MFA), and hierarchical clustering to identify the important principal components and different dairy clusters. Of the surveyed herds, 69.50% had less than 500 lactating cows, with Holstein as the main cow breed. The reported average milk production on the study herds was 31.1 (SE ± 1.10) Kg/cow/day. Housing of lactating, dry, and close-up cows was in open lots. The majority of the dairies milked cows were three times per day (90.63%), the remaining milked cows four (5.00%) or a mix of four and three times per day. Furthermore, herringbone parlor design was the most common parlor design (66.79%) in the study dairies. The most common disinfectants used for both pre- and post-milking teat dip were iodine-based, 90.0% and 95.0%, respectively, while 52.16% of the dairies reported that their milkers wore gloves during milking. The reported mean annual percentage of mastitis was 52.3%, as a percent of the milking herd. The study dairies reported the inspection of udder health through either visual inspection (95.00%), udder hygiene score (86.88%), teat end score (71.88%), and/or using CMT (54.91%). Contagious mastitis pathogens were reported in 45.2% of the study herds. More than 50% of the study herds relied on importing pregnant cows or pregnant heifers as replacements. Multiple factor analysis identified 20 questions and represented 5 components of variability related to mastitis on dairies. The current survey of Egyptian dairies described the herd demographics and different management practices related to mastitis control and prevention. All the study dairies relied on the blanket intramammary antimicrobial drugs at dry off when current research elsewhere has identified selective dry cow therapy as an integral component of antimicrobial stewardship on dairies. Further research is required to identify the association between different management factors and the occurrence of mastitis.