Survey on small ruminant bacterial mastitis in Italy, 2013–2014

Abstract Mastitis is the most important disease of dairy small ruminants affecting animal welfare, agricultural economy, and food safety. Only a few investigations on the bacterial epidemiology of udder infections have been performed. Aim of the study was to describe the Italian epidemiology of bacterial mastitis in small ruminant dairy herds. An ad hoc electronic data collection module was created by the National Reference Center for Sheep and Goat Mastitis (C.Re.N.M.O.C). Public health veterinary laboratories of the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institutes (EE.ZZ.II) (n = 10) were selected. Nine (90.0%) EE.ZZ.II. participated to the survey and 8 (87.5%) provided a full report. Bacteriological culture results from 30,232 sheep and goat milk samples collected in 1,795 herds between 2013 and 2014 were analyzed. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) were the most frequently isolated bacteria in dairy sheep and goats, followed by Staphylococcus aureus ; other bacterial species were Pseudomonas spp., Streptococcus uberis , Enterobacteriaceae , Enterococcus spp., Streptococcus spp. and Coryneiforms . Italian results confirm previous findings described in other countries; CNS are the most prevalent bacteria, probably due to subclinical symptoms, whereas Staphyloccocus aureus is the most prevalent clinical mastitis etiological agent. The present survey, based on the first, Italian standardized data electronic collection focused on small ruminant mastitis, may represent the backbone for future control and preventive strategies nationwide.