Invited review: Low milk somatic cell count and susceptibility to mastitis

Rainard, Pascal; Foucras, Gilles; Boichard, Didier; Rupp, Rachel

doi:10.3168/jds.2018-14593

Cited by 83 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…In addition, the logarithmically transformed version of SCC (somatic cell score, SCS) is used to select ruminants for increased mastitis resistance [46]. The available research on the relation between low milk SCC and increased mastitis resistance, however, gives discrepant results [47]. Besides infectious agents, there are non-infectious factors causing an increase of the SCC level.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hycole Doe Milk Properties and Kit Growth

Ludwiczak

Składanowska-Baryza

Kuczyńska

et al. 2020

Animals

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The level of production and the physiochemical traits of rabbit milk affect the growth and the mortality of bunnies during lactation. The goal of the study was to analyze the effect of litter size and day of lactation on the quality traits of rabbit milk, milk production, and associative traits. The study was conducted on 32 Hycole does and their litters. The rabbit milk pH ranged from 6.61 to 7.46. The colostrum was characterized by the highest content of total solids (31.54 and 31.80 g kg−1) and fat content (15.73 and 15.9 g kg−1). The milk from the beginning of the lactation was characterized by the highest level of somatic cell count (SCC) (523.67 and 536.57 103 mL−1), which gradually decreased to reach the lowest level on days 17 and 21 of lactation. The daily milk production was greater for does nursing 10 kits per litter compared to those nursing eight kits per litter (p < 0.001). The peak of milk production occurred on day 17 postpartum. To conclude, the litter size has a clear effect on milk production as well as litter weight and litter weight gains. It is also important to note that the day of lactation affected the physiochemical traits of rabbit milk.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hycole Doe Milk Properties and Kit Growth

Ludwiczak

Składanowska-Baryza

Kuczyńska

et al. 2020

Animals

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“…A healthy mammary gland usually has a SCC below 50,000 cells (Barbano et al, 2006), but is often defined as SCC <100,000 cells/mL (Schwarz et al, 2011). The discussion on possible effects of too low SCC in bovine milk has increased in recent years (Rainard et al, 2018). For example, Schalm et al (1971) reported that any mid-lactation milk samples with SCC >20,000 cells/mL are a sign of inflammation.…”

Section: Trait Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative subclinical mastitis traits for genetic evaluation in dairy cattle

Кирсанова

Heringstad

Lewandowska-Sabat

et al. 2019

Journal of Dairy Science

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“…Nevertheless, controversy endures about the use of milk SCC to select for improved mastitis resistance (Rainard et al, 2018a). Whereas a consensus exists regarding selection against high SCC, opinions diverge regarding selection for excessively low SCC levels.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Divergent selection on milk somatic cell count in goats improves udder health and milk quality with no effect on nematode resistance

Rupp

Huau

Caillat

et al. 2019

Journal of Dairy Science

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Milk somatic cell count (SCC) is commonly higher in goats than in cattle and sheep. Furthermore, the ability of milk SCC to predict mastitis is considered lower in goats than in cattle and sheep, and the relevance of somatic cell score (SCS)-based selection in this species has been questioned. To address this issue, we created 2 divergent lines of Alpine goats using artificially inseminated bucks with extreme estimated breeding values for SCS. A total of 287 goats, 158 in high-and 129 in low-SCS lines, were scrutinized for mastitis infections. We subjected 2,688 milk samples to conventional bacteriological analyses on agarose and bacterial counts were estimated for positive samples. The SCS, milk yield, fat content, and protein content were recorded every 3 wk. Clinical mastitis was systematically noted. A subset of 40 goats (20 from each line) was subsequently challenged with Haemonchus contortus and monitored for anemia (blood packed cell volume) and fecal egg counts to see if SCS-based selection had an indirect effect on resistance to gastrointestinal nematodes. Milk production traits, including milk quantity, fat content, and protein content, were similar in both goat lines. In contrast, the raw milk SCC almost doubled between the lines, with 1,542,000 versus 855,000 cells/mL in the high-and low-SCS lines, respectively. The difference in breeding value for SCS between lines was 1.65 genetic standard deviation equivalents. The Staphylococcus spp. most frequently isolated from milk were S. xylosus, S. caprae, S. epidermidis, and S. aureus. The frequency of positive bacteriology samples was significantly higher in the high-SCS line (49%) than in the low-SCS line (33%). The highest odds ratio was 3.49 (95% confidence interval: 11.95-6.25) for S. aureus. The distribution of bacterial species in positive samples between lines was comparable. The average quantity of bacteria in positive samples was also significantly higher in high-SCS goats (69 ± 80 growing colonies) than in low-SCS goats (38 ± 62 growing colonies). Clinical cases were rare and equally distributed between high-(n = 4; 2.5%) and low-SCS (n = 3; 2.3%) lines. Furthermore, the larger the amounts of bacteria in milk the higher the SCS level. Conversely, goats with repeatedly culture-negative udders exhibited the lowest SCC levels, with an average of below 300,000 cells/mL. We therefore confirmed that SCS is a relevant predictor of intramammary infection and hygienic quality of milk in goats and can be used for prophylactic purposes. After challenge with H. contortus, goats were anemic with high fecal egg counts but we found no difference between the genetic lines. This result provides initial evidence that resistance to mastitis or to gastrointestinal nematodes infections is under independent genetic regulation. Altogether, this monitoring of the goat lines indicated that SCS-based selection helps to improve udder health by decreasing milk cell counts and reducing the incidence of infection and related bacterial shedding in milk. Selection for low SCC s...

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Invited review: Low milk somatic cell count and susceptibility to mastitis

Cited by 83 publications

References 96 publications

Hycole Doe Milk Properties and Kit Growth

Hycole Doe Milk Properties and Kit Growth

Alternative subclinical mastitis traits for genetic evaluation in dairy cattle

Divergent selection on milk somatic cell count in goats improves udder health and milk quality with no effect on nematode resistance

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