Bovine mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland that causes changes in the biochemical composition of milk and gland tissue.
It is one of the most common diseases of dairy cows, mastitis has a negative impact on the quality and quantity of milk produced, resulting in losses for the livestock sector, if not treated in time it can become a chronic disease and cause euthanasia of cows..
Read this Animal Expert article to learn all about the symptoms and treatment of bovine mastitis.
Mastitis is a multifactorial disease because the infection depends on germs, environmental conditions and characteristics of the cow, microorganisms invade the breast tissue causing inflammation of the gland, we can classify mastitis in:
Contagious mastitis: caused by microorganisms that live in the mammary gland ((Streptococcus agalactiae and Staphylococcus aureus mainly).They are transmitted during milking of the cow, by contaminated milking machines, by the calf or by mistreatment of workers (dirty traps, not wearing gloves)., etc.) They cause a decrease in the amount of milk.
Environmental mastitis: caused by microorganisms (streptococcus and environmental coliforms) that live in the environment and are transmitted between milking and during the dry period when the gland does not produce milk, its presence helps determine the level of contamination on the farm.
Depending on the symptoms, mastitis can be classified mainly into
Subclinical mastitis: it is more difficult to detect than others, although there are no changes in either milk or udder, the number of microorganisms and somatic cells is high.
Clinical mastitis: inflammation of the affected nipple is observed, even the animal feels pain to the touch in this area, the milk is altered by the presence of flaking, clots, discolored serum and blood at the same time.
Acute mastitis: endangers the life of the animal. Widespread signs such as fever, decreased milk production or loss of appetite are also observed.
In addition to noticing the cow’s symptoms, milk samples are taken and the following tests may be performed to diagnose mastitis in cows:
You should know that prevention works better and is more effective than the treatment you can do, the treatment will depend on the microorganism responsible and whether it is subclinical or clinical, using an antimicrobial via intra-collective, the veterinarian will inform you of the treatment to follow.to remedy the cow’s mastitis.
Prevention is the key to managing this disease, and more important than treatment, here’s a list of preventive measures to prevent contagious mastitis:
Nipple disinfection before and after milking
As for the preventive measures to consider to reduce the appearance of environmental mastitis, we have the following:
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This article is for informational purposes only, in Animal Expert.com.br we cannot prescribe veterinary treatments or make any type of diagnosis, we suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case of any condition or discomfort.
If you would like to read articles similar to, we recommend that you visit our Bacterial Diseases section.