article · FUDMA Journal of Sciences
Mastitis represents a significant inflammatory udder disease in sheep and goats that compromises animal welfare, reduces milk yields, and diminishes farm profitability. The condition is frequently caused by opportunistic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae. Infections manifest in obvious clinical forms or as subclinical cases that often go undetected due to an absence of visible symptoms. Deficient management practices and contaminated farm environments facilitate the transmission of these pathogens between animals, humans, and the surrounding ecosystem. Furthermore, limited farmer awareness and restricted access to professional veterinary services drive the indiscriminate use of antimicrobials for both therapy and prophylaxis. This widespread misuse encourages the selection and genetic transfer of antimicrobial resistance, creating persistent bacterial strains that complicate disease management while remaining poorly documented across small ruminant farming systems.
Antimicrobial resistance is an escalating global health crisis spanning human and animal medicine. When livestock infections like mastitis are managed without professional veterinary oversight, the misuse of medications enables bacteria to exchange resistance genes. Understanding these environmental transmission pathways and farming practices is vital to protecting agricultural livelihoods, food production quality, and public health from difficult-to-treat infections.
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health threat affecting both human and animal sectors. Resistance occurs when microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites, become insensitive to antimicrobial agents to which they were previously sensitive at the recommended dosage, often due to misuse. Pathogens transfer resistance genes among themselves via transformation, conjugation, and transduction, thereby facilitating the spread of infection and complicating treatment. Mastitis is an inflammatory condition of the mammary gland that occurs following injury or disruption of the udder's natural protective barriers, such as trauma, environmental factors, or infectious agents. In small ruminants, particularly sheep and goats, mastitis remains an important health challenge affecting animal welfare, milk production, and farm profitability and hence, prone farmers to antimicrobial use and abuse. Several bacterial pathogens have been implicated in mastitis, with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Streptococcus agalactiae (S. agalactiae) among the opportunistic microorganisms commonly reported as causative agents. The disease may occur in either clinical or subclinical forms, with subclinical mastitis often remaining undetected due to the absence of obvious clinical signs. Awareness of AMR among small ruminant farmers remains limited, and the indiscriminate use of antimicrobials for both prophylactic and therapeutic purposes has contributed to the emergence and spread of resistant bacterial strains. In addition, management practices, including poor environmental sanitation or contamination, facilitate the transmission of mastitis-causing pathogens among animals, humans, and the environment. Due to limited access to professional veterinary services, the prevalence and distribution of mastitis and agents in small ruminants remain poorly documented
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DOI: 10.33003/fjs-2026-1013-5659
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