DETERMINATION OF MASTITIS PREVALENCE USING CALIFORNIA MASTITIS TEST (CMT) PADDLE ON TWO BREEDS OF DAIRY CATTLE

The study was conducted to evaluate mastitis prevalence using California Mastitis Test (CMT) in Bunaji and Wadara breeds at the ATBU Dairy Research Center and two other farms. Milk samples were collected from 110 cows after the animals were restraint and the udder was cleaned disinfected let out little milk before the sample was collected. Two mills (2ml) was collected from each cow using the CMT paddle and 3mls of the reagent was added to each of the sample, stirred for 5 minutes before examination. These 110 samples were collected from three locations (Alhaji Jauro Jaki (42) Alhaji Maikudi farm (40) and ATBU Dairy Research and development Centre (28). The results of the evaluation of Mastitis using CMT in Bunaji and Wadara cows based on location indicated that Alhaji Jauro Jaki (AJJ) had the highest number of positive teats recorded at 31 (73.8%), followed by Dairy Research and Development Centre (DRDC) which had 17 (60.7%) positive teats. The number of positives for Alhaji Maikudi (AM) were 14 (35%). The result of the evaluation based on Age indicated that for AJJ, cows below 6 years recorded 50% prevalence, while those above 6 years had the highest rate of 85.71%. The result based on breed showed that, out of the total of 110 samples screened only 13 cows were Wadara breed, the others were Bunaji and all the Wadara breed were found in DRDC only. The results indicated that AJJ recorded 73.81% prevalence rate and all of them were Bunaji. AM had lower value of 35.00% rate. In the Dairy Research and Development Centre (DRDC), a total of 15 samples were from Bunaji cows while the remaining 13 from Wadara cows. The two breeds (Bunaji and Wadara) recorded 93.33 and 23.08% prevalence rates respectively. This means that Wadara breed recorded more than four times lower prevalence compared to Bunaji breed. The result based on parity indicated that, AJJ had the highest number of positive teats (73.8%) followed by DRDC which had 60.7% positive teats. The positive teats for Alhaji Maikudi was 35%. The study revealed that 60.7% of the DRDC cattle tested positive, 73.8% of AJJ and 35% of AM farm tested positive for mastitis using the paddle test. This indicated a significant prevalence rate of Mastitis at the DRDC compared to the other two farms. This can lead to decreased milk quality and economic losses. This study highlights the need for improved mastitis control, measure and regular screening in dairy farm to enhance animal welfare and dairy productivity.