Determination of subclinical mastitis risk levels in cow raw milk samples collected from the Middle Black Sea Region

This study was carried out to determine subclinical mastitis (SM) risk levels and to estimate mil yield losses due to somatic cell count (SCC) in raw cow milk collected from some provinces in the Central Black Sea Region. Bucket milk samples from dairy cattle farms in Amasya (n=18), Çorum (n=26) and Samsun (n=34) provinces were collected with stratified random sampling during January-February 2024. SCC, California mastitis test (CMT) and mastitis card test (MTK) were analyzed. To determine the changes in SM risk level (SMRP100) across provinces, the test values were evaluated based on a risk score of 100 points. While there was no difference between SHS and MTK values in the evaluation according to provinces, the lowest average CMT values were determined in Amasya and the highest average CMT values in Samsun (P< 0.05). SMRP100, milk yield loss rate due to SHS and possible infected lobe rate (PIL) of the samples were determined as 35.51±2.383, 7.02±0.346% and 16.94±0.913%, respectively. Low-medium SM risk results of enterprises revealed the need to improve milking procedures, barn hygiene and milk storage conditions.