Somatic cell counts of ewes' milk.

The somatic cell counts of ewes' milk were determined by an electronic particle counter (Coulter Counter). Of 1408 apparently normal milk samples, 98.2% had a somatic cell count lower than 1.0 x 10(6) cells/ml and 85.8% of 254 bacteriologically positive samples had a count higher than 1.0 x 10(6) cells/ml. Values exceeding 1.0 x 10(6) cells/ml are indicative of subclinical mastitis, if samples were collected from clinically healthy mammary glands.