Mastitis treatment in Karnataka: Results from a qualitative scoping survey

Bovine mastitis, inflammation of a cow’s mammary gland, is estimated to cost Indian dairy farmers approximately 1.5 billion US dollars each year through the reduction of milk production and quality (Banal and Gupta, 2009). Milk production may decrease by as much as 17.5% before any noticeable signs of infection are present (Krishnamoorthy et al., 2021), with even larger losses in the case of clinically observable mastitis (Singh and Singh, 1994). Prevalence of sub-clinical mastitis in India has been estimated at 42% and is increasing with warming global temperatures (Krishnamoorthy et al., 2021; Jingar, Mehla, and Singh, 2014). Farmers in India typically treat animals for mastitis only once clinical signs appear, using broad-spectrum antibiotics that may accelerate development of resistant pathogens (Chauhan et al. 2018; Mutua et al., 2020). Diagnostic methods for mastitis are often expensive, time-consuming, and generally used for retrospective herd-level testing, limiting their effectiveness for preventing economic losses.