Abstract

VELAZQUEZ-ORDONEZ, Valente et al. Characterization of mastitis and its associated agents in meat sheep flocks in the central region of the state of Mexico. Abanico vet [online]. 2026, vol.17, e2025-44.  Epub July 10, 2026. ISSN 2448-6132.  https://doi.org/10.21929/abavet2026.7.

Small ruminants´ mastitis affects the economy by decreasing milk production and lamb development. To determine the frequency of mastitis in meat sheep and its associated agents, 38 family-farmed sheep flocks in municipalities in central Mexico were studied. A total of 822 individual sheep milk samples were obtained to perform the California mastitis test and microbial isolation. Results were evaluated using the Chi-square test (p<0.05). Isolations were achieved in 21.9 % of the samples evaluated, with 19.89 % in animals with subclinical mastitis and 2.79 % in animals with clinical mastitis. The most isolated agents were Staphylococcus aureus 34.18 %, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS) 21.94 %, and coliform bacteria 16.33 % (p<0.001); followed by non-agalactiae Streptococcus 8.68 %, Mannheimia haemolytica 4.60 %; non-coliform bacteria 2.04 %, Pasteurella multocida 2.04 %, and Streptococcus agalactiae 0.51 % (p<0.05). The least frequently isolated pathogens were Bacillus spp., Corynebacterium spp., Truperella pyogenes, and yeast. Subclinical and clinical mastitis was associated with Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS) infection (p<0.001), showing a widespread distribution in meat sheep flocks in the central region of the State of Mexico.

Keywords : ovine mastitis; Staphylococcus aureus; meat sheep; family production.

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