Abstract

Udder infection was considered as one of the main constraints for camel rearing. During the last decades the disease has been reported from a number of camels-rearing countries in Africa and Asia such as Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and United Arab Emirate. An attempt was made in this paper in order to review the status of camel mastitis (Camelus dromedarius) research in pastoral production system of both East Africa and Middle East. This paper reviews the forms of mastitis in camel which can be a clinical mastitis (including, acute and chronic mastitis) or sub-clinical mastitis. Clinical mastitis is characterized by hardening and swelling of the udder, pain on palpation and visible alteration of the colour and consistency of milk. Thus, clinical mastitis can be detected by examination of the udder and/or of the milk. While the term sub-clinical mastitis refers to the existence of inflammation in the absence of gross signs and can be detected by indirect tests such as california mastitis test (CMT) and somatic cell count (SCC) as well as microbiological examinations. Furthermore, the major pathogens of camel mastitis are Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Bacillus cereus, Actinomyces pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Micrococcus spp., and Corynebacterium bovis. Regarding the risk factors of camel mastitis, the paper reviews the most important risk factors such as the heavy tick infestation, use of anti-suckling devices, the lesions on udder or teat, and the treatment of infected quarters by cauterization. Moreover, the use of CMT, SCC and bacteriological examinations as diagnostic tools and their values for detection of camel mastitis are also reviewed. Based on the aforementioned, more epidemiological studies on camel mastitis are required in order to have a strong scientific data on the transmission of the disease, characterization of the pathogens causing the disease, other possible risk factors or diagnostic procedures, and the impact of the disease on the public health. Thus, the control strategies can be applied.

Key words: Camel mastitis, pathogens, forms, risk factors, diagnosis.