About this Research Topic
In dairy ruminants, mastitis represents one of the most serious health issues causing the reduction of milk production, high veterinary care costs with increased use of antibiotics, and animal culling, all of which account for severe economic losses. Mastitis consists of the inflammation of the udder and is mainly caused by contagious and/or environmental microorganisms leading to overt clinical or sub-clinical cases. Nowadays, management of mastitis in dairy ruminants faces various problems: the resilience of high-yielding animals, poor efficacy of therapies and prevention (antibiotic resistance, dubious efficacy of vaccines), quality of milk, reduced availability of food and water, climate change, and difficulties in early diagnosis. All of these problems should provoke the interest of researchers and practitioners to suggest affordable and effective control measures.
Dairy ruminant farming should aim to select highly resilient and disease-resistant animals, produce high quality milk, reduce the consumption of antibiotics, take advantage of frugal feed, and develop mastitis prevention strategies and early diagnostic tools. To reach these goals, more detailed knowledge on host-pathogen interactions, immune response of the mammary gland of different ruminant species, resilience and resistance of diary ruminant species and breeds, and milk and udder microbiota composition need to be defined. Some preliminary data suggests that autochthonous cows are more resilient and resistant to the disease compared to highly selected cosmopolitan cows. Moreover, an open debate is focused on the existence or the absence of a milk microbiota. An effective vaccination against mastitis is still not available and the causes of the failure of this type of prevention still need to be investigated. Therefore, new control strategies such as immunomodulation may be helpful for the future fight against mastitis.
This Research Topic intends to provide a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge on dairy ruminant mastitis . We welcome the submission of Original Research, Review, Mini-Review and Perspective articles on different aspects of mastitis and its management including, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:
• Ruminant biodiversity and resistance to mastitis
• Mastitis in different ruminant species (small ruminants, buffaloes, etc.)
• The issue of udder microbiota
• Vaccination and immunomodulation against mastitis
• Role of epigenetic regulation in udder immunity
• Differential count of somatic cells in milk
• Immune response in the mammary glands of dairy ruminants
• Economic impact of dairy ruminant mastitis
• Mastitis therapies and management: past and future
• Back to the future: how dairy farming should change to face climate change and sustainable agriculture/economy.
Dairy ruminant farming should aim to select highly resilient and disease-resistant animals, produce high quality milk, reduce the consumption of antibiotics, take advantage of frugal feed, and develop mastitis prevention strategies and early diagnostic tools. To reach these goals, more detailed knowledge on host-pathogen interactions, immune response of the mammary gland of different ruminant species, resilience and resistance of diary ruminant species and breeds, and milk and udder microbiota composition need to be defined. Some preliminary data suggests that autochthonous cows are more resilient and resistant to the disease compared to highly selected cosmopolitan cows. Moreover, an open debate is focused on the existence or the absence of a milk microbiota. An effective vaccination against mastitis is still not available and the causes of the failure of this type of prevention still need to be investigated. Therefore, new control strategies such as immunomodulation may be helpful for the future fight against mastitis.
This Research Topic intends to provide a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge on dairy ruminant mastitis . We welcome the submission of Original Research, Review, Mini-Review and Perspective articles on different aspects of mastitis and its management including, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:
• Ruminant biodiversity and resistance to mastitis
• Mastitis in different ruminant species (small ruminants, buffaloes, etc.)
• The issue of udder microbiota
• Vaccination and immunomodulation against mastitis
• Role of epigenetic regulation in udder immunity
• Differential count of somatic cells in milk
• Immune response in the mammary glands of dairy ruminants
• Economic impact of dairy ruminant mastitis
• Mastitis therapies and management: past and future
• Back to the future: how dairy farming should change to face climate change and sustainable agriculture/economy.
Keywords: Ruminant, mastitis, resilience, biodiversity, microbiota
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
