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The most important thing in the fight against this disease is to identify alarming symptoms in time and treat latent mastitis in a cow. After this, the process proceeds quite successfully and does not cause complications. Difficulties arise if the disease becomes chronic or catarrhal, which can cause a complete stop of lactation without the possibility of recovery. In this regard, it is important to know how to independently identify hidden mastitis at an early stage and provide first aid to a sick animal.
What is latent mastitis in cattle?
Subclinical (or latent) mastitis in cows is an inflammatory process in the animal’s udder that affects one or several of its lobes. The difficulty of treating subclinical mastitis in cattle lies in the fact that the symptoms of the disease are hidden - the cow may be sick for quite a long time, but it will not manifest itself outwardly, except for minor physiological changes that are easy to miss.Latent mastitis has no acute manifestations, especially at the initial stage.
Causes of hidden mastitis in cows
There can be many reasons for subclinical (latent) mastitis in cattle. The most common include the following negative factors that can negatively affect the condition of the udder:
- Unsatisfactory living conditions. Very often, subclinical mastitis occurs in weakened animals that are in a damp and cold room with insufficient heating. This also includes lack of light and poor ventilation. Dirty bedding only increases the risk of inflammatory processes.
- Mechanical injuries. Latent mastitis can develop in a cow after pathogens penetrate the mammary glands, which usually occurs through scratches and cracks in the udder. A weakened immune system only contributes to this, since the animal does not have enough strength to fight the infection on its own.
- Unsanitary conditions when working with cattle. Hidden mastitis can be provoked in a cow by a person himself - through dirty hands, E. coli and other microbes that cause inflammatory processes can penetrate into the blood and lymph of the animal.
- Hardware milking of cows. On farms where animals are not milked by hand, the risk of subclinical mastitis is 15-20% higher. This is due to malfunctions in the operation of milking machines, poor-quality equipment and inability to use it.
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Sometimes hidden mastitis is a consequence of another disease.
- Difficult birth.The likelihood of latent mastitis increases with retained placenta and endometritis - inflammation of the uterine mucosa.
- Incorrect start of a cow. Most often, subclinical mastitis affects cattle precisely during startup and dead wood. In this regard, it is especially important to monitor the health of animals during this period.
Symptoms of latent mastitis in cows
Treatment of latent mastitis in cows largely depends on how early the presence of inflammatory processes is diagnosed in a sick animal. Most often, the disease can be determined only after calling a veterinarian, but it is also possible to identify a number of signs by which latent mastitis can be determined independently. This is difficult to do, since the changes are minor, but there is still a chance.
The primary symptoms of subclinical mastitis are as follows:
- Milk yield decreases, but this happens gradually, and there are no changes in nutrition;
- the consistency of the milk becomes slightly different - it loses its original thickness and becomes slightly watery, which is associated with a change in the chemical composition;
- As subclinical mastitis progresses, small lumps begin to form in the udder.
If nothing is done at the initial stage of the disease, secondary signs of latent mastitis begin to appear, which are difficult to miss:
- the mammary glands become inflamed - the nipples become noticeably swollen;
- the temperature of the udder rises, its swelling becomes noticeable;
- touching the udder during latent mastitis causes pain in the cow, as a result of which the animal often shifts from one foot to the other and kicks with its hoof during milking;
- nipples become dry and cracks appear on them;
- Small clots or white flakes are observed in the milk.
Thus, the very fact that milk yield began to decrease for no apparent reason is already a reason to be wary. It’s better to play it safe and call a specialist to examine the cow. The veterinarian must take a milk sample from the animal, after which a laboratory test will determine for sure whether the cow has subclinical mastitis or whether these are signs of another disease.
Studies on subclinical mastitis in cows
The primary diagnosis of latent mastitis is carried out through a visual examination. The veterinarian should look for the following signs of subclinical mastitis:
- the mammary gland has slight compactions in one or several lobes, they feel jelly-like to the touch;
- the overall size of the udder decreases;
- The walls of the nipples are noticeably thicker.
Unfortunately, these signs indicate already progressive latent mastitis. At the initial stage of development of the disease, its presence can only be determined in laboratory conditions. To do this, special tests are carried out in which milk from cows with suspected subclinical mastitis is examined.
Counting somatic cells in milk
The express method consists of counting the somatic cells of milk - with latent mastitis, their number in the expressed product increases several times, and leukocytes dominate over red blood cells. In addition, with latent mastitis, studies should reveal the following changes:
- the disease is indicated by low acidity of the product;
- there is an increase in the amount of albumin and globulin;
- the proportion of protein in milk is significantly reduced, and a drop in calcium and phosphorus levels is also noted.
Diagnostics using milk control plates
Subclinical mastitis in cows is also determined in the laboratory using a reaction to the following reagents:
- "Mastidine" (2%);
- "Dimastin" (2%);
- "Mastoprim" (2%).
In this case, special milk control plates MKP-1 and MKP-2 are used, each of which contains four recesses. A test for latent mastitis is carried out according to the following scheme:
- From each share you need to collect 1-2 ml of milk and pour it into the appropriate connectors.
- Then add 1 ml of reagent to it and stir the resulting mixture with a glass rod.
- After 15-20 seconds, the milk should thicken or change color.
If milk thickens to a jelly-like state, the presence of latent mastitis in the cow is confirmed. The resulting viscous mass can be easily pulled out of the recess with a glass rod.
If no reaction occurs, then the animal is healthy or has other problems not related to subclinical mastitis.
Milk settling
Additional diagnosis of subclinical mastitis in cows is carried out by settling. This process looks like this:
- 1-2 cm of fresh milk from each nipple is collected into test tubes.
- The containers are placed in the refrigerator for 15-16 hours.
- The holding temperature should be within -5-10°C.
After this, in good lighting, the reaction to subclinical mastitis is checked - if the milk was taken from a healthy cow, then it has a white or slightly bluish color, and no sediment is released. A small layer of cream appears on the surface.
The milk of a sick cow with latent mastitis forms a white or yellowish sediment, and the layer of cream does not appear.
How to treat hidden mastitis in cows
Treatment of latent mastitis in cows begins with isolating the sick individual from the rest of the herd. The animal is placed in a separate stall, given a diet to reduce milk production, and left alone. If a cow has pronounced swelling of the udder, it is necessary to reduce the amount of drinking water for the animal.
The next stage of treatment for subclinical mastitis involves physical therapy, which includes the following set of measures:
- UHF;
- laser therapy;
- infrared heating;
- ultraviolet irradiation;
- application of compresses and applications with paraffin.
Complete recovery from subclinical mastitis is impossible without the use of antibiotics. It is not recommended to select them yourself; treatment should be prescribed by a veterinarian. Most often, the following drugs are used to combat hidden mastitis:
- "Erythromycin". One tablet must be dissolved in a small amount of ethyl alcohol and mixed with water. Injections are carried out into the mammary gland, and the interval between them should be at least a day. The frequency of processing is three times.
- "Mastisan E". Injections are carried out at the same frequency.The dosage is determined by the veterinarian.
- "Tylosin 200". The drug is administered intramuscularly once a day. The recommended dosage is 8-10 ml of the product. The drug is administered for three days.
- "Efikur". The medicine is intended for subcutaneous injection. The dosage is calculated based on the weight of the animal - for every 50 kg of weight, 1 ml of the drug is needed. Use Efikur for three days.
- "Mastitis Forte". The drug is used for injection into the udder. The peculiarity of the action is that the product contains both an antibiotic and components to relieve inflammation. The dosage is calculated by the veterinarian.
These drugs are administered intravenously, orally or intramuscularly. The action of the drugs is based on neutralizing the toxicity of pathogenic bacteria.
Additionally, sick cows with latent mastitis are given fresh milk from healthy cows 1-2 times a day. Novocaine blockades of the udder have proven themselves well in the fight against subclinical mastitis. All solutions must be warmed to the animal’s normal body temperature before administration.
Approximately 7-10 days after the start of treatment, it is necessary to re-examine the milk of sick cows. If the test result is again positive, the cattle continue to be treated according to the specified regimen until the test shows a negative reaction.
Preventive actions
Timely treatment of subclinical mastitis in cows usually does not cause any particular difficulties, but it is still better to reduce the risk of the disease to a minimum.Since latent mastitis most often occurs as a result of improper starting, it is necessary to follow a number of rules during this period:
- Juicy feeds and concentrates are completely removed from the animals’ diet, or at least their total amount is reduced by half;
- the cow is gradually transferred to double milking, after which they move to single milking;
- the next step is milking every other day;
- complete the transition process by completely stopping milking.
In addition, in order to prevent latent mastitis, it is important to provide the animals with good care and maintenance. Bedding should be changed regularly to reduce the risk of udder infection from dirty conditions, and the area should be regularly ventilated.
Conclusion
If the owner identifies the symptoms in time, and the treatment of latent mastitis in the cow is carried out under the supervision of a veterinarian, then the chances of recovery for the sick animal are high. On the other hand, it is better, in general, to prevent the possibility of developing hidden mastitis, for which it is necessary to follow all preventive measures against this disease. It is also recommended to test milk samples 1-2 times a month, preferably before starting a cow.
At the end of treatment, it is necessary to donate milk from the sick animal to the laboratory. Only after confirming that the cow is healthy does the veterinarian lift the quarantine. The cattle are transferred back to other animals, and the milk can again be consumed.
You can learn more about how to treat subclinical mastitis in cattle from the video below:
