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Yield Losses Associated with Clinical Mastitis Occurring in Different Weeks of Lactation

C. Hagnestam^*,1, U. Emanuelson and B. Berglund^*

^* Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7023, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7054, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden

¹ Corresponding author: christel.hagnestam{at}hgen.slu.se

The effects of the first lactational incidence of clinical mastitis (CM) on milk, fat, and protein production were studied in the Swedish Red and Swedish Holstein breeds. The data consisted of 38,535 weekly production records from 1,192 lactations (506 cows), sampled from 1987 to 2004 in one of the university’s research herds. Daily yields were analyzed using a repeated-measures mixed model with an interaction between mastitis index and lactational stage, breed, parity, reproductive status, year-season of calving, and various indices for other disorders as independent variables. The indices were used to distinguish between cows with and without the studied diagnoses, as well as to indicate time (test day) in relation to day of diagnosis. Inclusion of the interaction made it possible to study the effects of CM occurring in different weeks of lactation. Primiparous and multiparous cows were analyzed separately, and the yields of nonmastitic cows were used as a reference for the production level in healthy cows. Lactational (305-d) yield losses were extrapolated from the daily estimates. High milk yield was predisposing to CM. Daily milk yield started to decline 2 to 4 wk before diagnosis. On the day of clinical onset, the milk yield of mastitic cows was reduced by 1 to 8 kg. After a case of CM, milk yield was suppressed throughout lactation. The magnitude of the yield losses was determined by the week of lactation at clinical onset. The greatest losses occurred when primiparous cows developed CM in wk 6, whereas multiparous cows experienced the greatest losses when diseased in wk 3. The 305-d milk, fat, and protein production in mastitic primiparous cows were reduced by 0 to 9, 0 to 8, and 0 to 7%, respectively. The corresponding reductions in mastitic multiparous cows were 0 to 11, 0 to 12, and 0 to 11%, respectively.

Key Words: dairy cow • clinical mastitis • yield loss