Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Occurrence of Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria Isolated from Milk of Dairy Cows in Small-Holder Farms in Juja Sub-County, Kenya

J. M. Kagira, M. Ngotho, E. Mugo, M. Kiplimo, N. Maina

Asian Journal of Research in Animal and Veterinary Sciences · pp. 114–123 · Published 4 Jun 2022

10.9734/ajravs/2022/v5i2188

Abstract

Sub-clinical mastitis (SCM) remains a serious hindrance to small-holder dairy farms in Kenya. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the risk factors associated with occurrence of SCM and antibiotic resistance in smallholder dairy farms in a peri-urban set-up area of Juja Sub-county, Kenya. Milk samples was obtained from 120 lactating dairy cows in 60 farms and screened for SCM using California mastitis test (CMT). Positive CMT samples were cultured and bacteria identification was done using standard methods. A questionnaire survey was administered at the household level to assess the risk factors associated with SCM. Sensitivity of the Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli isolated from milk against commonly used antibiotics was determined using disc diffusion method. The prevalence of SCM at cow and udder level was found to be 66.7% and 61.3%, respectively. The highest prevalence of SCM was in Kalimoni (88.8%), Murera (82.7%) and Witeithe (71.4%) wards. The least affected area being Juja (60%) and Theta (44.4%) wards. Sub-clinical mastitis was significantly higher (p=0.007) in Friesian (74.1%) and Guernsey (66.7%) breeds as compared to the indigenous breed (53.8%). Cows with parity of four and above had higher (p=0.001) prevalence of SCM (73.7%) as compared to those of lower parity stage. Additionally, the prevalence (81%) of SCM in cows at late lactation was higher (P=0.002) compared to early (61.5%) and mid-lactation (56.4%), respectively. Higher prevalence (59%) of SCM was found in cows kept in less frequently cleaned housing compared to those more frequently cleaned (10%). The bacterial organisms isolated from the milk were Staphylococcus spp. (41.7%), Klebsiella spp. (24.5%), Pseudomonas spp. (22.1%), Escherichia coli (6.8%), Shigella spp. (1.8%) and Salmonella spp. (3.1%). The isolated Staphylococcus spp. and E. coli were most resistant to Oxytetracycline (79%, 100%, respectively) and Streptomycin (44%, 90%, respectively). Multidrug resistance (MDR) involving a combination of oxytetracycline, tetracycline, streptomycin and chloramphenicol and gentamycin was observed amongst Staphylococcus spp. (29.4%) and E. coli (45.5%) isolates. In conclusion, the study showed that large proportion of dairy cows was affected by SCM and the antibiotic resistance (AR) was high. This calls for animal health extension experts and other relevant stakeholders in the industry to train farmers on efficient control of SCM and emerging cases of AR.

Sub-clinical mastitis milk risk factors peri-urban antibiotic resistance Kenya

References (20)

  1. 1 Veterinary Epidemiology [DOI]
  2. 2 An Overview of the Control of Bacterial Pathogens in Cattle Manure [DOI]
  3. 3 Relationship between somatic cell count and milk yield in different stages of lactation [DOI]
  4. 4 Prevalence and Risk Factors of Mastitis in Lactating Dairy Cows in Southern Ethiopia
  5. 5 Importance of bovine mastitis in Africa [DOI]
  6. 6 Sub-clinical mastitis and associated risk factors on lactating cows in the Savannah Region of Nigeria [DOI]
  7. 7 Evaluation of an On-Farm Culture System (Accumast) for Fast Identification of Milk Pathogens Associated with Clinical Mastitis in Dairy Cows [DOI]
  8. 8 Prevalence of bovine subclinical mastitis and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of major mastitis pathogens isolated in Unguja island of Zanzibar, Tanzania [DOI]
  9. 9 Extended lactation in high-yielding dairy cows. II. Effects on milk production, udder health, and body measurements [DOI]
  10. 10 Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Antibiogram of Bacteria Isolated from Milk of Goats with Subclinical Mastitis in Thika East Subcounty, Kenya [DOI]
  11. 11 Assessment of sulphonamides and tetracyclines antibiotic residue contaminants in rural and peri urban dairy value chains in Kenya [DOI]
  12. 12 Mastitogenic bacteria isolated from dairy cows in Kenya and their antimicrobial sensitivity [DOI]
  13. 13 Bovine Mastitis: Prevalence, Risk Factors and Bacterial Isolation in Small-Holder Dairy Farms in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia
  14. 14 Study on bovine mastitis with isolation of bacterial and fungal causal agents and assessing antimicrobial resistance patterns of isolated Staphylococcus species in and around Sebeta town, Ethiopia [DOI]
  15. 15 PREVALENCE AND ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS ISOLATED FROM CATTLE, BUFFALO, SHEEP AND GOAT`S RAWS MILK IN SOHAG GOVERNORATE, EGYPT. [DOI]
  16. 16 Study on Prevalence and Risk Factors of Bovine Mastitis in Borana Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Settings of Yabello District, Borana Zone, Southern Ethiopia
  17. 17 Assessment of performance of smallholder dairy farms in Kenya: An econometric approach [DOI]
  18. 18 Isolation, Identification and Antibiogram of Bacterial Pathogens from Bovine Subclinical Mastitis in Asella, Ethiopia [DOI]
  19. 19 Prevalence of Mastitis and Associated risk factors in Jimma Town Dairy Farms, Western Ethiopia [DOI]
  20. 20 Socio-economic characteristics of dairy production in the selected areas of Ethiopian central highlands [DOI]

Cited by 7

Risk Factors of Mastitis and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli isolated from Cows Kept by Farmers in Githunguri Sub-County, Kenya

J. M. Kagira, P. Achoki, F. Wariara, B. Wanja, J. Kiarie, K. Cheruiyot, M. P. Kung’u · Journal of Applied Life Sciences International · 2023

Antibiotic Residues in Animal Products from Some African Countries and Their Possible Impact on Human Health

Oluwaseun Mary Oladeji, Liziwe Lizbeth Mugivhisa, Joshua Oluwole Olowoyo · Antibiotics · 2025

Analyses of Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase, Metallo-β-Lactamase, and AmpC-β-Lactamase Producing Enterobacteriaceae from the Dairy Value Chain in India

Tushar Kumar Dey, Johanna Frida Lindahl, Åke Lundkvist · Antibiotics · 2023

Prevalence and Antibiogram of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus spp. Isolated from Cattle Milk Products Sold in Juja Sub-County, Kenya

Julius I.N. Sombie, John Maina Kagira, Naomi Wangari Maina · Journal of Tropical Medicine · 2022

Economic analysis of smallholder dairy cattle farms: Case study of Nandi and Makueni Counties in Kenya

Menjo Dominic Kiplagat, Bett Rawlynce Cheruiyot, Evaristo Mukunda Malenje · Journal of Agriculture Science and Technology · 2025

A systematic review on the prevalence, risk factors, bacterial profiles, and antibiogram of bovine mastitis in Kenya

Peter Kimeli, Christine M. Mbindyo, Shepelo Getrude Peter · Preventive Veterinary Medicine Regional Studies and Reports · 2026

Showing 6 of 7 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

53

Page views

0

PDF downloads

10

Outbound clicks

7

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.