Subclinical mastitis in sheeps: Etiology, epidemiology and diagnosis methods

WOS: 000259238600021The incidence of mastitis is less frequent in sheep compared to dairy cows. However, there has been a growing interest in sheep mastitis due to a high morbidity rate in acute and peracute forms, Furthermore, sheep with sub-clinical mastitis may develop clinical form of mastitis in poor husbandary condition. Mastitis in sheep is seen in two forms: clinical and subclinical. The clinical form, which has peracute, acute and chronic subforms, is characterized by grossly visible pathological changes in mammary gland and milk. However, the subclinical form bears more importance as the case is often missed due to absence of such changes. Numerous studies on etiology, epidemiology and diagnosis of sheep mastitis indicated that the sheep mastitis resembles to cow mastitis. However, there are important differences between sheep and cow mastitis. This review discusses etiology, epidemiology and Current diagnostic techniques in subclinical mastitis in sheep with emphasis on recent updates