Introduc)on*As a changing climate results in increasingly severe droughts in northern Kenya, the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) is becoming a popular livestock animal. They can go days without water and continue producing milk under drought conditions when other livestock cannot3, making camels important for food security and human welfare in arid environments. Currently, there is only one camel milk pasteurization plant in Kenya, and an estimated 10% of Kenyans (4 million people) drink unpasteurized camel milk. This has high public health risks in terms of pathogen transmission from camels to people2. Despite a deficit of knowledge on camel husbandry and diseases, great potential is seen for the Kenyan camel milk industry both nationally and internationally3. However, low milk quality and low production per camel have resulted in low profitability for milk producers. Mastitis is one of the major hindrances to productivity and results from unhygienic milking practices among pastoralists3. Several studies in Kenya and neighboring Ethiopia have estimated mastitis prevalence in camel herds ranging from 23% to 76% 1,4. High mastitis prevalence is a concern both because of decreased production potential and also because of the pathogens that may be transmitted to consumers of raw camel milk.

Materials*and*Methods •  Research was conducted in Laikipia county, Kenya. A total of 116

camels were sampled in 11 different herds. Herd size ranged from 13-137 camels, and the number of lactating females ranged from 2-40 individuals per herd.

•  At each herd all lactating camels were tested for mastitis using the California Mastitis Test (CMT). Age, body condition score (BCS), parity, calf age, and tick load were recorded for each camel.

•  A questionnaire addressing herd demography, husbandry, milking practices, milk storage, and access to veterinary care was conducted at each herd.

•  Milk samples were collected from milk storage containers just after milking. These samples were cultured on Blood Agar and MacConkey plates. Standard Plate Counts were performed to quantify bacterial contamination.

Literature*Cited*1.  Abera, M., O. Abdi, F. Abunna, and B. Megersa. 2009. Udder Health Problems and Major Bacterial

Causes of Camel Mastitis in Jijiga, Eastern Ethiopia: Implication for Impacting Food Security. Tropical Animal Health and Production 42 (3): 341–347.

2.  Kaindi, D. W. M., E. Schelling, J. M. Wangoh, J. K. Imungi, Z. Farah, and L. Meile. 2012. “Risk Factors for Symptoms of Gastrointestinal Illness in Rural Town Isiolo, Kenya: Symptoms of Gastrointestinal Illness in Rural Town Isiolo.” Zoonoses and Public Health 59 (2) (March): 118– 125.

3.  Musinga, M., Kimenye, D., & Kivolonzi, P. 2008. The camel milk industry in Kenya. Resource Mobilization Center.

4.  Seifu, E., & Tafesse, B. 2010. Prevalence and etiology of mastitis in traditionally managed camels (Camelus dromedarius) in selected pastoral areas in eastern Ethiopia. Ethiopian Veterinary Journal, 14(2): 103–114.

5.  Younan, M., Ali, Z., Bornstein, S., & Müller, W. 2001. Application of the California mastitis test in intramammary Streptococcus agalactiae and Staphylococcus aureus infections of camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Kenya. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 51(3): 307–316.

6.  Aljumaah, R., Almutairi, F., Ayadii, M, Alshaikh, M., & Aljumaah, A. 2-11. Factors influencing the prevalence of subclinical mastitis in lactating dromedary camels in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia. Tropical Animal Health Production, 43: 1605-1610.

Results*Mas))s*•  At the quarter level, 31 (6.7%) of 461 udder quarters tested were

positive for mastitis. At the animal level, 22 (19%) of 116 camels examined were positive for mastitis. Of 11 herds visited, 6 (55%) were mastitis-positive at the herd level.

•  Knowledge of mastitis is low in this region. The herders at only one out of 11 herds knew the term “mastitis.” While most herders understood that camels can get an illness specifically in their udder, none knew what causes udder infections or how to prevent them.

•  Several different signs were used to recognize udder infections. A swollen udder was most frequently used. Other signs included painful udder, udder injury or pus, lumps in the udder, and the camel not eating. Two of the 11 herds regularly tested their camels for mastitis using the CMT.

Results*Bacterial*Contamina)on* *

*

Conclusions*A mastitis prevalence of 19% at the animal level is lower than reported by other studies, which range from 23-76%1,4. This may reflect more hygienic milking practices in Laikipia or a low sensitivity (60%) of the CMT for camels5. As other studies have found1,4, increased age and parity were associated with having mastitis. Unlike other studies1,4, high tick load was not associated with mastitis, which is likely due to regular treatment for ticks by every herd in this study. Other studies6 found higher mastitis prevalence was associated with early stage of lactation (younger calves), the reverse of our results. In this study both mastitis prevalence and milk bacterial contamination were higher later in lactation, with the former possibly explaining the latter. Dromedary lactation is about one year6, yet two year-old calves were still nursing in some herds in this study. This suggests extended lactation may have negative consequences for udder health and milk quality. Though milking practices and knowledge of mastitis did not predict mastitis prevalence or bacterial contamination, local knowledge of mastitis is low. Little is done to keep udders clean or prevent pathogen transmission during milking. Education on causes and prevention of mastitis as well as the influence of camel age and lactation stage on mastitis is needed for Laikipia camel herders. Additional education on the risks of raw milk consumption and appropriate hygienic milking practices would be beneficial.

*L.*Budd1,*S.*Deem2,*W.*Smith1,*A.*Varga1,*and*M.*Kinnaird3,4*1UC#Davis#School#of#Veterinary#Medicine,#2St.#Louis#Zoo#Ins>tute#for#Conserva>on#Medicine,#

#3Mpala#Research#Centre,#4Wildlife#Conserva>on#Society#

Acknowledgments*Thank you to Boniface Parsulan for translating and assisting with data collection. Thank you to Jackson Hoit for help with data collection. Thank you to the UC Davis SVM Endowment Fund, SVM International Externship Fund, and the Hoit family for funding this research.

Predictors of milk quality and mastitis prevalence in dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) in northern Kenya

Hypotheses •  Mastitis and high bacterial contamination of milk will be associated

with increased camel age, parity, and tick load as well as decreased body condition and calf age.

•  Mastitis and high bacterial contamination of milk will be associated with unhygienic milking practices, little or no knowledge of mastitis, and little access to veterinary resources.

Figure 2. Mastitis-positive camels were older (p=0.001, df=111) and had had more calves (p=0.03, df=111) than mastitis-negative camels. Mastitis-positive and negative camels did not differ in their body condition scores (BCS) or tick loads.

Do mastitis-positive and negative camels differ?

Figure 3. Mastitis prevalence is positively correlated with mean calf age (p=0.02, R2=0.497). Other camel metrics and milking practices did not demonstrate a relationship with mastitis prevalence within herds.

Figure 7: Common containers used for milk storage included a) wooden gourds, b) plastic jerry cans, and c) aluminum containers. Plastic and aluminum containers were cleaned with water or soap and water. Wooden gourds were sterilized using smoke.

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Springer and I, along with Laura Budd and Sina Mahs, visited the Vital Milk Camel Ltd. pasteurization plant in Nanyuki. We spent a morning at the plant meeting with Holger Marbach, the managing director. We learned about the current production of the plant, the  plant’s  actual  capacity, and plans for moving forward and making pasteurized camel milk more affordable for people in Kenya.

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Herders (a) Herders milking one of the camels. (b) Philip, Sina and John weighing camel milk for the

nutrition project being conducted in conjunction with the health program. (c) Daily milk pick up for the hour drive to the Nanyuki milk pasteurization plant. (d) Camel milk pasteurization plant in Nanyuki. (e) Pasteurized camel products (e.g., milk and yogurt) in a grocery store in Nanyuki.

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Figure 4. Log of colony forming unit count on blood agar demonstrated a trend towards a positive correlation with mean calf age (p= 0.08 R2= 0.2437).

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Figure 5. Proportion of herds (n=11) using various hygienic practices during milking and milk storage.

Figure 6. Proportion of herds (n=11) using various strategies to clean udders, hands, and storage containers.

Figure 1. The California Mastitis Test (left) and testing (right).

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