Study highlights mastitis burden in female dromedary camels
Bottom line
Version 1 — Brief
A new clinical study in 191 female dromedary camels found that udder lesions were far more common than teat lesions, with udder cases accounting for 78.53% of presentations and teat cases 21.47%. Mastitis was the most frequent udder disorder, while hyperkeratosis and teat wounds were the most common teat lesions. The study, conducted at Qassim University’s veterinary hospital in Saudi Arabia from 2018 to 2025, also reported an overall treatment success rate of 89.53% for mastitis and emphasized that combining clinical examination with ultrasonography improved diagnosis and prognosis. (assets-eu.researchsquare.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals working with camelids or dairy camels, the report adds practical evidence that mammary disease in female dromedaries is both common and usually manageable when identified early. That matters because prior camel research has linked mastitis risk to age, milking hygiene, tick burden, and the presence of udder or teat lesions, reinforcing that lesion detection is not just a local tissue issue, but a herd health, milk quality, welfare, and productivity concern. (assets-eu.researchsquare.com)
What to watch: Watch for peer-reviewed publication or wider field validation, especially around how ultrasound-guided triage and earlier intervention might improve outcomes in commercial camel milk systems. (assets-eu.researchsquare.com)
Key facts
- Study type
- Clinical study
- Species
- Female dromedary camels
- Sample size
- 191 camels
- Main finding
- Udder lesions were more common than teat lesions, 78.53% versus 21.47%
- Most common udder disorder
- Mastitis
- Most common teat lesions
- Hyperkeratosis and teat wounds
- Treatment success
- 89.53% for mastitis
- Study setting
- Qassim University veterinary hospital, Saudi Arabia
- Study period
- 2018 to 2025
A new camel medicine study is putting numbers around a problem many field veterinarians already recognize: udder disease appears to outweigh teat disease in female dromedaries presented for care, and mastitis leads the list. In a cohort of 191 female camels, researchers found udder lesions in 78.53% of cases versus 21.47% for teat lesions, with mastitis the most common udder condition. The authors also reported strong treatment outcomes, including an 89.53% success rate for mastitis, and highlighted the value of pairing hands-on examination with ultrasonography. (assets-eu.researchsquare.com)
The work helps fill a gap in camel clinical literature, where mammary disorders are recognized as important for milk production and welfare, but detailed case-based data on presentation patterns and outcomes have been limited. According to the study record, the cases were collected prospectively between 2018 and 2025 at the University Veterinary Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, in Saudi Arabia, drawing animals from multiple farms and regions. That gives the paper some practical field relevance, even if it reflects a hospital-based population rather than a general prevalence survey. (assets-eu.researchsquare.com)
The paper’s key message is that lesion location and lesion type matter clinically. Mastitis was the leading udder disorder, followed by fibrosis and wounds, while hyperkeratosis and teat wounds were the most common teat findings. The authors describe using clinical and ultrasonographic evaluation to classify cases and guide treatment decisions, with medical management used in acute presentations and surgery reserved for chronic or nonresponsive cases. They also reported that lesions were most often observed in camels aged 5 to 10 years. (assets-eu.researchsquare.com)
That diagnostic emphasis aligns with other camel imaging literature. A separate PubMed-indexed study on dromedary mammary gland imaging concluded that ultrasonography, endoscopy, and radiography are feasible in the field and useful for diagnosing mammary pathology, supporting the new paper’s argument that imaging can strengthen decision-making beyond palpation and gross inspection alone. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Broader camel mastitis research also supports the study’s clinical relevance. Recent work from Northern Egypt found that mastitis risk was higher in camels older than five years, during early lactation, with tick infestation, poor milking hygiene, and existing udder or teat lesions. Earlier research likewise identified age, parity, lactation stage, breed, production system, milking hygiene, and udder or teat injury as significant risk factors. Taken together, that suggests the lesions described in the new study are part of a larger management and infectious disease picture, not isolated surgical curiosities. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, especially those serving camel dairies or mixed large-animal practices, this study offers a practical reminder that early mammary workups can pay off. If mastitis and other udder disorders dominate case load, then routine clinical screening, careful teat-end assessment, and timely ultrasound may help sort medical from surgical cases sooner, improve prognosis discussions with pet parents and producers, and potentially reduce downstream effects on milk yield, milk quality, and animal welfare. Because the study is based on referred clinical cases, it should be read as a treatment-oriented cohort rather than a population prevalence estimate, but that may make it more useful for day-to-day case management. (assets-eu.researchsquare.com)
What to watch: The next step is whether this dataset moves into a peer-reviewed journal and whether follow-on studies add microbiology, milk production outcomes, recurrence rates, or standardized ultrasound protocols that could help translate these findings into broader camel practice guidelines. (assets-eu.researchsquare.com)