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Mastitis In Heifers

A recent study in The Veterinary Journal shows that mastitis in hefers is associated with many factors, including negative energy balance in early lactation. Other relevant factors include breed, udder conformation and breeding values.

The abstract of the paper is shown below:

The Veterinary Journal

Journal  homepage:  www.elsevier.com/locate/tvjl
The Veterinary Journal 202 (2014)   566–572

Mastitis in dairy heifers: Prevalence and risk factors
M.J. Bludau a, A. Maeschli a,*, F. Leiber a, A. Steiner b, P. Klocke a,†
a Department of Animal Science, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Ackerstrasse 113, 5070 Frick, Switzerland
b Clinic for Ruminants, University of Berne, Bremgartenstrasse 109a, 3012 Bern, Switzerland

A R T I C L E I N F   O
A B S   T R A   C T

Article history:
Accepted 17 September  2014
Keywords:
Dairy heifers Subclinical mastitis Somatic cell count Prevalence
Risk factors
Poor udder health represents a serious problem in dairy production and has been investigated inten- sively, but heifers generally have not been the main focus of mastitis control. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, risk factors and consequences of heifer mastitis in Switzerland. The study included 166,518 heifers of different breeds (Swiss Red Pied, Swiss Brown Cattle and Holstein). Monthly somatic cell counts (SCCs) provided by the main dairy breeding organisations in Switzerland were moni- tored for 3 years; the prevalence of subclinical mastitis (SCM) was determined on the basis of SCCs ≥100,000 cells/mL at the first Mastitis test date. The probability of having SCM at the first Mastitis test date during lactation was modelled using logistic regression. Analysed factors included data for the genetic back- ground, morphological traits, geographical region, season of parturition and milk composition. The overall prevalence of SCM in heifers during the period from 2006 to 2010 was 20.6%. Higher frequencies of SCM were present in heifers of the Holstein breed (odds ratio, OR, 1.62), heifers with high fat:protein ratios (OR 1.97) and heifers with low milk urea concentrations combined with high milk protein concentra- tions (OR 3.97). Traits associated with a low risk of SCM were high set udders, high overall breeding values and low milk breeding values. Heifers with SCM on the first Mastitis test day had a higher risk of either devel- oping chronic mastitis or leaving the herd prematurely.

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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