SOMATIC CELL COUNT AS AN INDICATOR OF UDDER HEALTH STATUS UNDER MODERN DAIRY PRODUCTION: A REVIEW

Mastitis, an important disease of dairy animals, influences the quality and quantity of milk. Penetration of pathogenic microorganisms in the teat canal irritates and invades the delicate mammary tissue, causing an inflammatory response and consequent changes occur in the milk. Degree of these changes depends on the infecting agent and the inflammatory response. Mastitis, the inflammation of the udder regardless of the cause, is the most costly disease of dairy cattle and results in severe economic losses from reduced milk production, treatment cost, increased labor, withheld milk following treatment and premature culling. Among infectious agents, bacterial pathogens are major threat to mammary gland. These microorganisms are often contagious, widely distributed in the environment of dairy animals and thus increase prevalence rate of intra-mammary infections (IMI).