The objectives of this study were to describe the incidence of postpartum disease and to evaluate the association with serum cholesterol concentrations during the first 3 weeks after calving in grazing dairy cows. The association between non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), calcium and postpartum diseases was also evaluated. A total of 307 Holstein dairy cows from 6 commercial grazing herds in Osorno, Chile, were monitored from calving until 21 days in milk. Cases of retained placenta, clinical hypocalcemia and clinical mastitis were recorded by the farmer using established definitions. Twice weekly, cows were evaluated for metritis by the same veterinarian based on vaginal discharge and body temperature. Postpartum blood samples were collected weekly and analyzed for serum concentrations of cholesterol, NEFA, BHBA and calcium. Cows were considered as having subclinical ketosis if BHBA >1.2 mmol/L, and subclinical hypocalcemia if calcium <2.0 mmol/L in any of the 3 weekly samples. Overall, 56% of the cows studied developed at least one clinical or subclinical disease after calving. Incidence of individual diseases was 8.8% for retained placenta, 4.2% for clinical hypocalcemia, 11.7% for clinical mastitis, 41.1% for metritis, 19.9% for subclinical hypocalcemia and 16.6% for subclinical ketosis. Lower postpartum cholesterol in cows was associated with developing severe metritis or having more than one clinical disease after calving. For every 0.4 mmol/L decrease in serum cholesterol cows were nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with multiple clinical diseases after calving. Higher BHBA concentrations and lower calcium concentrations during week 1 were associated with severe cases of metritis. Low serum calcium concentration during week 1 was also associated with developing more than one clinical disorder after calving. In conclusion, the incidence of postpartum diseases can be high even in grazing herds and lower serum cholesterol concentrations were associated with occurrence of clinical postpatum disorders.

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Worldwide, milk analysis is an satisfactory measurement of milk quality on dairy farms. Milk composition is the base for payment systems, so knowledge of its characteristics at different periods is essential for modern dairy producer. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of year, season, stage of lactation, and lactation number on variations in milk yield and composition of Holstein cows (n=148,604). Milk yield estimated by multiple regression was 25,50L/cow/day. Winter was the season with the highest milk yield and the highest protein and lactose content. Milk fat was highest in the fall, in cows in late lactation and also in primiparous cows. Lactating cows from 6 to 60 days in lactation and those in 2nd or 3rd lactation showed the highest milk yield. Lactose concentration was positively correlated with milk yield. Somatic cell score was negatively correlated with milk yield and with lactose concentration. Most important variations in milk characteristics occur among seasons, lactation stages and parities. Mammary gland health is yet the greatest challenge to be overcome.

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RESUMENObjetivo. El objetivo del estudio fue determinar la asociación, sensibilidad (Se) y especificidad (Es) de las enzimas glutamato deshidrogenasa (GDH, EC: 1.4.1.3), aspartato aminotransferasa (AST, EC: 2.6.1.1) y g-glutamil transpeptidasa (GGT, EC: 2.3.2.2) como indicadores de daño hepático en perfiles bioquímicos sanguíneos de vacas lecheras. Materiales y métodos. Se analizaron los valores de la actividad plasmática de GDH, AST y GGT, obtenidos de 1566 vacas correspondientes a 112 perfiles bioquímicos realizados en rebaños lecheros. Se determinó la asociación entre la actividad de las enzimas y el área bajo la curva (ABC) y la Se y la Es mediante curva ROC considerando la presencia de daño hepático cuando GDH>30 U/L o GGT>39 U/L. Resultados. La AST presentó mayor asociación con la GDH (r=0.55) que la GGT (r=0.44), así como una mayor ABC (p=0.01) al utilizar GDH>30 U/L para indicar daño hepático. El grado de asociación entre AST y GGT fue de r=0.42. La sensibilidad de la AST para detectar daño hepático, utilizando el punto de corte de referencia del laboratorio (>150 U/L), fue inferior que al emplear GGT (>39 U/L). El punto crítico de máxima Se y Es de la curva ROC para daño hepático se obtuvo con AST>110 U/L, valor que incrementó la concordancia diagnóstica con la GDH (Kappa >0.300), pero no con la GGT. Conclusiones. La actividad plasmática de AST en vacas lecheras se asocia mayormente con la de GDH que con la de GGT y su límite de referencia para predecir daño hepático correspondería a >110 U/L.Palabras clave: Enzimas hepáticas, perfiles sanguíneos, vacas lecheras (Fuente: CAB).