An-Najah Staff

This study was undertaken to determine aetiology and prevalence of
27 subclinical mastitis in manually and mechanically milked animals in the north of
28 Palestine. Milk samples from animals with bacterial infection of the mammary gland
29 showed significantly higher somatic cell count (SCC) than did the corresponding
30 milk from healthy animals, which (1,420±100 X103 cells/ml; vs. 330±35 X103
31 cells/ml; 1650±155 X103 cells/ml vs. 490±40 X103 cells/ml; 520±50 X103 cells/ml
32 vs. 140±25 X103 cells/ml) for ewes, goats and cows, respectively. The prevalence of
33 bacterial isolation of the milk from goats (n = 25), sheep (n = 40) and cows (n=220)
34 from several major herds was determined. Culturing for bacteria revealed that 52 %,
35 72.5% and 59.1% of tested goats, sheep and cows had subclinical mastitis,