Metabolic Predictors of Subclinical Mastitis during Early Lactation in Crossbred Cows

Mastitis is a complex disease with critical outcomes. Subclinical mastitis (SCM) although lacks clinical signs but it has a profound effect on milk production if occurs during early lactation. The purpose of the study, was to investigate the changes that occur in plasma metabolite levels before development of mastitis during early lactation. To evaluate the association, blood samples were collected from 50 pregnant Karan Fries (KF) cows at weekly interval from the day of partum till +90th days of calving or till the occurrence of SCM, whichever was earlier. Positive diagnosis for SCM was confirmed in 15 cows by both modified Californian mastitis test (mCMT) and increased Somatic cell count (SCC) between 4 10 lakh cells/ml within 6 8 week (56 days) of lactation. Thus 15 SCM cows were compared with 15 healthy ones for plasma metabolic profile till 56th day of lactation. The significantly (P<0.05) higher plasma non esterified fatty acid (NEFA) and plasma (β Hydroxy Butyric Acid) β HBA levels of SCM cows over healthy ones before disease occurrence signifies severe metabolic load along with unsuccessful metabolic adaptation from transition, might be a potential factor for causing SCM during early lactation.