The descriptive epidemiology of udder lesions in Northern Iraqi ewes

Pathological lesions of the mammary glands were studied in 3693 randomly selected ewes in Northern Iraq between July 1988 and June 1989. The lesions were encountered in 3.9% (143/3693) of the ewes. Prevalences of mastitis, neoplasms and miscellaneous lesions were 3.5% (131/3693), 0.2% (6/3693) and 0.2% (6/3693), respectively. Five patterns of mastitis were encountered: acute suppurative, subacute suppurative, subacute non-suppurative, chronic suppurative and chronic non-suppurative. Mammary neoplasms encountered in the present study included adenocarcinoma, papilloma of the skin of the teat and haemangiopapilloma of the cistern. The miscellaneous lesions of the mammary gland included subepidermal cysts; hyperplasia, metaplasia and dysplasia of the ductal epithelium; thelitis; the presence of corpora amylacia; and blind teats. The highest prevalence of mastitis was during May and June. Significant differences were not encountered in the prevalence of mastitis in various age groups and breeds. Bacteria that were isolated from mastitic udders included Staphylococcus spp., Corynebacterium pyogenes, Pasteurella hemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, and a mixture of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus spp. The staphylococci were isolated from almost all types of mastitis, C. pyogenes from chronic supparative mastitis, and the pasteurellae from the acute and subacute mastitis. Fungi were not isolated.