Current trend of drug sensitivity in bovine mastitis

Mastitis is inflammation of the parenchyma of mammary gland, characterized by physical, chemical and bacteriological changes in milk and pathological changes in glandular tissues (16). An annual economic loss of over Rs. 6000 crore due to mastitis has been recorded, of this, Rs. 1700 crore are lost due to clinical mastitis and Rs. 4300 crore due to sub clinical mastitis (7). The situation has been compounded by the continued indiscriminate use of antibiotics, defying the rational approach of selection of suitable antibiotics after culture and sensitivity test of milk. This may be attributed to callous approach of the dairy farmers, who instead of consulting qualified veterinarian, prefer to take over the counter supply of medicine by the drug retailers. Veterinarians who do not capitalize on the available diagnostic tests are no less responsible for increase in the incidence of mastitis. Apart from antibiotic sensitivity testing, other parameters, which affect the efficacy of drugs in mastitis such as pH of milk, presence of lipid vacuole or reticulin fibres, are also important. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to study drug sensitivity as well as change in pH, presence of lipid vacuole & reticulin in milk for selection of suitable drug for treatment of bovine mastitis. Materials and methods