REGULAR ARTICLES Effect of management practices and animal age on incidence of mastitis in Nili Ravi buffaloes Tariq Ali & Abdur Rahman & Muhammand Subhan Qureshi & Muhammad Tariq Hussain & Muhammad Shauib Khan & Siraj Uddin & Muhammad Iqbal & Bo Han Accepted: 6 July 2014 /Published online: 16 July 2014 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 Abstract Buffalo is an economically important dairy animal in South Asia but mostly ignored in research priorities. In this retrospective study, the effect of management practices and age of animal on the incidence of mastitis in Nili Ravi buffa- loes was investigated. A total of 1,560 quarters of buffaloes (n =390) were screened by visual examination of the udder and milk (clinical mastitis) and California mastitis test (sub- clinical mastitis). Household data was collected on a predesigned questionnaire and analyzed. The prevalence of subclinical mastitis, clinical mastitis, and blind quarters was 41.8, 13.6, and 9.7 %, respectively. The highest prevalence was noted in the hind quarters and left side as compared to that in the forequarters and right side. This data significantly (p <0.05) supported the idea that larger herd size has more chances of mastitis, with the highest prevalence (40, 32, and 27 %) in the large, medium, and small herds, respectively. Stage of lactation was significantly (p <0.01) involved in mastitis, and the highest incidence (43.3 %) was noted in early lactation. Milk production of lactating buffaloes that ranged 6–10 l/day showed a higher rate of mastitis occurrence (p <0.05). The cleanliness condition of a farm also contributed significantly. Animal age significantly affected the incidence of mastitis. Results revealed that age of the animal has a positive correlation (R 2 =0.772) with mastitis. This study con- cluded that some factors alone or in combination with other factors influence significantly the occurrence of mastitis, and to minimize the infection, these factors should be considered. The outcome of the study will be valuable for policy-making for positive management practices and implementation of preventive measures. Keywords Buffalo . Mastitis . Lactation . Age . Management practices Introduction Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is acknowledged as the black gold of Asia and is a major dairy animal in Pakistan. Pakistan is considered as the top 2 largest buffalo milk-producing country in the world (F.A.O. 2008). Pakistan’ s dairy industry is com- posed of mostly buffaloes and cattle, contributing 95 % of total milk production, and the share of buffalo in total milk is more than 75 % (Jamil et al. 2011). In addition, buffalo milk is more preferred by consumers, and buffalo farmers are getting higher prices relative to cattle milk (Javaid et al. 2009). Currently, Pakistan harbored three breeds of buffaloes, namely Nili Ravi, Kundi, and Azekhili. The Nili Ravi breed of buffalo is contributing about 75 % of the total milk produced in the country (Sharif et al. 2009) and is a dynamic breed under field situation. Additionally, this breed is also used to provide beef, traction, and tilling power. Domesticated water buffalo popu- lation is around 172 million in the world and 27.33 million in Pakistan (Anonymous 2006). However, buffalo farming is integrated with the agricultural system, and the majority (85 %) of herd size is very small (Khan 2002). In Europe, Italy is the only country where buffalo production has fetched T. Ali : B. Han (*) College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Yuan Ming Yuan West Road No. 2, Haidian District, 100193 Beijing, People’ s Republic of China e-mail: hanbo@cau.edu.cn A. Rahman : M. S. Qureshi : M. T. Hussain : S. Uddin Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan M. S. Khan Gomal College of Veterinary Sciences, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan M. Iqbal Livestock Research and Development, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Peshawar, Pakistan Trop Anim Health Prod (2014) 46:1279–1285 DOI 10.1007/s11250-014-0641-2