Diagnostic and Therapeutic Studies on Mycotic Mastitis in Cattle

40 milk samples were collected from cattle suffering from chronic mastitis with no or poor response to therapy with common antibiotics, these samples were subjected to bacteriological and mycological culture then confirmed by traditional fungal confirmatory procedures and multiplex PCR (m-PCR). The results showed 37 positive samples for fungal culture hence Candida albicans took the lead of them by 60 %, Aspergillus fumigatus 22.5%, Aspergillus niger, 10 % while Cryptococcus neoformans not detected in any sample. Mixed bacterial and fungal infection was detected in 83.78% while fungi as a sole etiological agent were detected in 16.22% of samples. The PCR succeeded to distinguish between Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans more accurate and fast than traditional confirmatory methods. Pure mycotic mastitis cases were subjected to treatment by a new novel drug consisting of extract of medicinal plants (garlic and sesame oil). All treated cases responded well to this drug and returned to normal udder condition and to full milk production.