Comparison of Diagnostic Methods and Incidence of Subclinical Mastitis on Local Breeds

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of subclinical mastitis in family-size herds that were kept and fed traditionally, and to compare the diagnosis methods used. Totally, 118 milk samples were collected from 31 healthy cows from Koyulhisar (Sivas) district were used as the material in this study. California Mastitis Test and electrical conductivity as determined by Milk Checker were applied to the samples. The samples were transported to Ankara University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Laboratory of Mastitis for Somatic Cell Count (SCC) test. The incidence of Subclinical Mastitis was determined as 60.17%. To this incidence, the effect of age was found significant (P 0.01), but lactation stage s and quarter s effects were found insignificant. For logSCC, lactation stage s and quarter s effects were found insignificant (P 0.05), but logSCC increased with advancing age and this increase was found statistically (P 0.05) significant. In conclusion, according to results; the incidence of subclinical mastitis was determined as high in family-size herds. Practically, according to the EC, CMT gave more reliable results.