Journal of Veterinary Medicine and Health
Open Access

Antibiotic; Camel mastitis; Characterization, Ethiopia; Fafan zone; Sensitivity; Prevalence; Somali region

Introduction

Back ground and justification

In Ethiopia, there is a national drive to alleviate the existing food deficit by devising different agricultural strategies including improvements of the productivity of livestock sector by controlling some of the major infectious disease through regular monitoring. Dairy production is generally hampered by different disease of intensification among which udder health problem (mastitis) is the leading one. Mastitis poses its great effects on the dairy industry including; temporary or permanent loss in the female animal ability to produce milk, the milk quality is reduced with less favorable characteristics, reduction in milk price due to high Somatic Cell Count (SCC) presence, milk loss because of antibiotics drug residue, veterinary care and labor costs, reduced productive life of the animal, less meat value of the animal after slaughter and annual losses due to reduced overall production of dairy product [1]. However, as for other dairy animals, dromedary camel could be affected by udder infection as mastitis, a complex disease occurring worldwide among dairy animals, with heavy economic losses largely due to clinical and subclinical mastitis. Evidence indicates that subclinical mastitis causes suffering of the animal, reduce milk yield, alters milk properties, impairs preservation and processing and is a public health concern for consumers of camel milk. In Ethiopia, the disease is insufficiently investigated and has less attention. Information relating to mastitis magnitude, distribution, negative effect on milk quality and risk factors associated to consumers is very much limited. Such information is important to envisage when optimizing prevention and control options in different dairy farms of the country that would help reduce its prevalence and negative effects on dairy products [2].

Objectives

Specific objectives

1. To determine the prevalence of dairy camel mastitis in the study areas

2. To assess the associated risk factors for the occurrence of She camel sub-clinical mastitis

3. To identify and characterize major bacterial pathogens that cause camel mastitis

4. To investigate camel milk production, handling practices and associated problems with mastitis

5. To evaluate the susceptibility of the isolates to commonly used antibiotics in the treatments of mastitis.

6. To optimize possible prevention and control options of the disease

Materials and Methods

Description of the study area

The study was conducted in and around Jigjiga city, Fafan zone, Somali regional state. Fafan administrative zone, is located in the northern part of the Ethiopian Somali Region, at 9°20’ North latitude; 45°56’° East longitude, about 630 km East of Addis Ababa. It shares border with Shinile zone to the North, the Hararghe highlands of Oromia Region to the West, Degahbur to the South, and Somalia to the East. It covers a total land area of 40.86 km2 with altitude ranging from 500 to 1,650 meter above sea level. The area receives a precipitation ranging from 300 to 600 mm per annum and an average daily temperature of 16°C to 20°C Agro-pastoralist is a dominant production system in Fafan zone. The estimated livestock population of the zone includes 248,435 cattle, 666,130 sheep, 503,881 goats’ 72,390 camels and 10,548 poultry (CSA, 2011/2012). According to the report of Birhan (2013), cattle, sheep, goats and 23 camels are the main productive livestock reared in the area, and camel population was estimated to be 85,000. Specifically, Jigjiga city is located 9° 35‟ N latitude and 42° 8‟ E longitude [3,4].

Study population

Targeted study populations were purposively selected lactating camel owners and dairy camel farm owners/managers, respectively. Similarly, all lactating she camels in dairy camels of in and around Jigjiga city with the aim of estimating dairy camel mastitis prevalence, characterization and determination of antibiotic sensitivity for camel mastitis causing agents were targeted [5].

Data analysis

Data generated from questionnaire survey and laboratory investigations were recorded and coded using Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (Microsoft Corporation) and analyzed using STATA ver. 16 for windows. An overall prevalence of mastitis was calculated as the number of subclinical mastitis cases divided by the total number of samples tested. The associations of subclinical mastitis with location/ farm, age, lactation stage, parity, production system, sources of water and udder and leg hygiene were compared using chi-square test (χ2). Furthermore, logistic regression analysis was performed to quantify odds ratio, so as to detect the strength of association for the exposing risk factors towards the prevalence of lactating she camel mastitis where P < 0.05 was deemed to be statistically significant [6].

Discussion

The overall she camel level prevalence for subclinical mastitis of 10.6 %, reported in this study is in agreement with the reports. Who reported 9.8% of sub-clinical mastitis in dairy she camels in Benadir region of Somalia. Who reported 14.5% prevalence of camel mastitis in Bule Hora and Dugda Dawa pastoral districts in Southern Ethiopia? In contrast, the finding of camel mastitis prevalence in the present study is relatively lower than the reports. Higher prevalence rate of 25.3%, 24.7%, 25.8% 25.0% and 25.0% for camel subclinical mastitis in Jigjiga Town of Somali region from eastern Ethiopia, Gursum district of Somali region from eastern Ethiopia, in and around Hargeisa of Somaliland from Northern Somalia and Dubti district of Afar region from North-eastern Ethiopia, respectively. Based on the results of antibiotics sensitivity test of the current study, it can be concluded that the preference of antimicrobial drugs for the treatment of mastitis in dairy camels should be first Erythromycin in descending order followed by Streptomycin and Oxytetracycline. This result parallels with the finding. In the current study 84.5% of the isolated bacteria were susceptible to Erythromycin antibiotic. Nevertheless, there was no published work to compare and contrast in this regard [7-10].

Conclusion and Recommendations

The current study revealed that camel sub-clinical mastitis was prevalent in the study area and is one of the dairy camel health problems. Age and hygienic measures like udder and leg hygiene were significantly associated with lactating she camel sub-clinical mastitis prevalence among the putative risk factors considered in the present study. Following bacterial species isolation analysis of the current study, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae and Pasteurella multocida had been identified as major bacteria of causing her camel mastitis in the study area. Based on the findings of antibiotics sensitivity test in the present study, it has also been realized that Erythromycin is the drug of choice and Oxytetracycline and tetracycline is the least option for treating mastitis in the study area.

Conflict of Interest

None

Acknowledgment

None

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