No abstract

Mastitis is the major problem of dairy animals despite a number of preventive and therapeutic approaches. Treatment is costly and out of reach of farmers of developing countries like India. The treatment cost of bovine mastitis with conventional treatment has been calculated. Good results have been claimed with homeopathic treatment however, treatment costs are not available. This article reports the treatment economics of homeopathic drugs conventional drugs for the management of bovine mastitis. Ninety-six mastitic quarters (non-fibrosed 67 and fibrosed 29) were treated with a homeopathic combination medicine. Another 96 quarters with acute mastitis (non-fibrosed) treated with different antibiotics were included in the study. The animals were selected from dairy farm of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute and from private dairy farms. The overall effectiveness of homeopathic combination medicine in the treatment of acute non-fibrosed mastitis was 86.6% with a mean recovery period of 7.7 days (range 3-28), and total cost of therapy as Indian Rupees 21.4 (0.39 Euros, US$ 0.47). The corresponding cure rate for the antibiotic group was 59.2% with a mean recovery period of 4.5 days (range 2-15) and an average treatment cost of Rs.149.20 (2.69 Euros, US$ 3.28). We conclude that the combination of Phytolacca, Calcarea fluorica., Silica, Belladonna, Bryonia, Arnica, Conium and Ipecacuanha (Healwell VT-6) was effective and economical in the management of mastitis in lactating dairy cows.

We report an uncontrolled observational study of the treatment of udder diseases of buffalo, using a homeopathic complex medicine. Mastitis is an economically important disease of buffaloes. In India economic losses due to mastitis are estimated at 526 million US dollars annually. Conventional veterinary treatment relies on costly antibiotics; cure rate is only 60% in field conditions with a problem of milk residues. The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of a homeopathic complex in the management of clinical udder health problems of riverine buffaloes. Cases of subclinical mastitis were excluded from the study. A total of 102 mastitic quarters (fibrosed--40, nonfibrosed--62) and five cases each of blood in milk and udder oedema in lactating buffaloes were treated with a homeopathic complex consisting of Phytolacca 200c, Calcarea fluorica 200c, Silicea 30c, Belladona 30c, Bryonia 30c, Arnica 30c, Conium 30c and Ipecacuanha 30c. The diagnosis of udder diseases and recovery criterion was based on physical examination of udder and milk and CMT/WST score. Bacteriological analysis and somatic cell count were not performed. Treatment was 80 and 96.72% effective in cases of fibrotic mastitis and nonfibrosed mastitis respectively. Recovery period was 21-42 days (fibrosed) and 4-15 days (nonfibrosed). Udder oedema and blood in milk responded favourably in 2-5 days. Cost of treatment was 0.07 US dollars per day. The homeopathic complex medicine may be effective and economical in the management of udder health problems of buffaloes. Definitive conclusions are premature due to the limited number of observations and lack of control group.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of a homeopathic complex in the management of true anoestrus in crossbred cows. Six anoestrus cows were treated with a homeopathic complex (Calcarea phosphorica 30c, Aletris farinosa 30c, Pulsatilla 30c, Aurum muriaticum natronatum 30c, Sepia 30c and Phosphorus 30c in equal proportion, 15 pills twice daily orally for 10 days). Six animals acted as control without any treatment. Treatment was 100% effective in inducing oestrus in anoestrus cows with mean interval of 27.5+/-5.3 days. All animals conceived and overall conception rate was 54.5% with 1.83 services per conception. In the homeopathic complex treated group, increased serum oestradiol concentration (20.88+/-5.60 to 27.80+/-7.28 pg/ml) was observed compared to the pretreatment (11.71+/-2.06 pg/ml) and control value (10.43+/-1.77 to 13.94+/-3.14 pg/ml). The homeopathic complex medicine may be effective and economical in the treatment of true anoestrus condition in cows.

A comparative study on oxidative stress in dogs infected with Ehrlichia canis with or without concurrent infection with Babesia gibsoni. Veterinary Research Communications, 30(8), 917-920