The objective was to study the clinical aspects and the physical-chemical characteristics of the milk in sheep with mastitis experimentally induced with Staphylococcus aureus. For such, were used 10 Santa Inês primiparity ewes, weighing 30 kg, clinically healthy and housed in a stall. After establishing the normality patterns for the studied variables, the animals were inoculated into one teat of the udder with an inoculum of 1.0x10(4)ufc/ml of S. aureus, while the other gland served as control. The clinical observations were accomplished in intervals of 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108, 120, 132, 168, 180, 288 and 336 hours after the inoculation of the agent (PI). All the animals presented clinical systemic manifestations, and in the inoculated glands with more intensity from 24 hours on after the inoculation. There were significant alterations (P<0.05) in the production and physical-chemical composition of the milk in relation to the controls, with reduction of volume and fat. The pH, the chlorates and CCS reached very high indexes, accompanied by the CMT test reaction. The bacteriological exam revealed the presence of S. aureus during the phase of infection. After the treatment of the sheep 36 hours PI, one animal came to death 48h PI, and the others showed clinical recovery; however there was no physiologic re-establishment of the inoculated udders which lost their function.
Mastitis in sheep; Staphylococcus aureus; milk; somatic cell count
