Animal Health & Veterinary Medicine

The purpose of the current study was to use a therapeutic modality employing apitherapy for controlling of mastitis. Isolation and identification of mastitis causing bacteria from milk samples of mastitic cows and to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of propolis in relation to antibiogram profile. A total of 160 quarter milk samples were collected from 40 dairy cows in two farms. California Mastitis Test (CMT), somatic cell counts (SCC) and microbiological examination of milk was used to identify and confirm mastitis cases. The main pathogenic isolates were Gram positive as Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS), Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactia, Corynebacterium bovis and Enterococcus faecalis. Gram-negative bacteria were Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella spp., Pasteurella spp. and Proteus spp. The antibiogram profile was done to determine the most effective antimicrobial agents against mastitis causing bacteria. Application of propolis and royal jelly which showed the potent antimicrobial activity against most of the pathogens isolates from mastitis.