Clinical ketosis (CK) and subclinical ketosis (SCK) are associated with lower milk production, lower reproductive performance, an increased culling of cows and an increased probability of other disorders. Quantifying the costs related to ketosis will enable veterinarians and farmers to make more informed decisions regarding the prevention and treatment of the disease. The overall aim of this study was to estimate the combined costs of CK and SCK using assumptions and input variables from a typical Dutch context. A herd level dynamic stochastic simulation model was developed, simulating 385 herds with 130 cows each. In the default scenario there was a CK probability of almost 1% and a SCK probability of 11%. The herds under the no risk scenario had no CK and SCK, while the herds under the highrisk scenario had a doubled probability of CK and SCK compared to the default scenario. The results from the simulation model were used to estimate the annual cash flows of the herds, including the costs related to milk production losses, treatment, displaced abomasum, mastitis, calf management, culling and feed, as well as the returns from sales of milk and calves. The difference between the annual net cash flows of farms in the no risk scenario and the default scenario provides the estimate of the herd level costs of ketosis. Average herd level costs of ketosis (CK and SCK combined) were €3,613 per year for a default farm and €7,371 per year for a high-risk farm. The costs for a single CK case were on average €709 (with 5 and 95 percentiles of €64 and €1,196, respectively), while the costs for a single SCK case were on average €150 (with 5 and 95 percentiles of €18 and €422, respectively) for the default farms. The differences in costs between cases occurred due to differences between cases (e.g., cow culled vs cow not culled, getting another disease vs not getting another disease).

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Bovine mastitis is regarded as the most costly disease of dairy cows. Estimating its economic impact therefore gives farmers and veterinarians an insight into the costs of the disease at herd level and helps them make appropriate decisions regarding its control. The aim of this study was to determine the costs of clinical mastitis in Friesian × Bunaji crossbred dairy cows. Passive data collected between 2000 and 2015 was retrieved from the Dairy Research Programme of the National Animal Production Research Institute, Shika-Zaria, Nigeria and this was used to determine the input parameters for a simulation model. The parameters included the lactation and seasonal prevalence of clinical mastitis, average daily milk yield of cows, average illness period and the proportion of cows in each parity. Stochastic (Monte Carlo) simulation modelling of milk yield losses due to clinical mastitis was done using Microsoft ® Excel with @Risk 7 add-in. The cost of a case of clinical mastitis at a base risk incidence of 35.2% was ₦5,005.85 ($15.87). The costs increased by 7.5% in a herd with 10% higher milk yield, while revenue generated was higher by 10.2%. The cost was 1.64% higher in a herd with fifty per cent of it cows in first parity than a herd with fifty per cent of its cows in third parity. 1.01% higher net revenue was generated from herds with fifty per cent of it cows in third parity than the herd with fifty per cent of its cows in first parity. Improving milk production potential of cows resulted in more cases of clinical mastitis, although the increase in revenue overshadows the added costs of clinical mastitis, successful control of mastitis will also significantly reduce production costs and improve the farm revenue.

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