Occurrence of subclinical metabolic disorders in dairy cows from western Santa Catarina state, Brazil

Abstract

The management of dairy herds during the transition period has been studied in several studies due to the severe adjustments to which cows are submitted in the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids and minerals at early lactation. This is a period when occurs most of the metabolic disorders in dairy cows, especially in their subclinical form. Hitherto a lack of information exists on the occurrence of subclinical metabolic disorders in Brazil. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of subclinical metabolic disorders, including ketosis, liver lipidosis, hypocalcemia, lactacidemia and hypomagnesemia, as well as phosphorous, copper and zinc deficiency in dairy cattle from the western region of Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil, during the first 30 days of lactation. Blood samples from 15 dairy herds managed in intensive production (free-stall) and semi-confined systems were collected. Milk yield, reproduction and health data of the herd were recorded in a questionnaire, based on the records of the farm and on the observations during samples collection. Blood samples were collected for the measurement of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and lactate using portable monitors at the farm and for obtaining serum to perform the following biochemical determinations: total calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, albumin, aspartate transaminase (AST) and creatine kinase (CK) by UV-visible spectrophotometry, and copper and zinc by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. In this study, the cutoff points considered were as follows: serum BHB concentrations >1.2mmol/L for subclinical ketosis, AST >140U/L and CK <94U/L for subclinical liver lipidosis, serum lactate concentrations >2.2mmol/L for lactacidemia, serum total calcium concentrations <7.5mg/dL for subclinical hypocalcemia, serum magnesium concentration <1.7mg/dL for hypomagnesemia, serum phosphorus concentration <2.5mg/dL for phosphorus deficiency, serum copper concentrations <32.8μg/dL for copper deficiency, and serum zinc concentrations <60μg/dL for zinc deficiency. The results showed an occurrence of 9% for subclinical ketosis, 11% for subclinical liver lipidosis, 44.5% for lactacidemia, 11% for subclinical hypocalcemia, 7.4% for subclinical hypomagnesemia, 10.7% for copper deficiency and 8.7% for zinc deficiency. According to the survey results, the occurrence of subclinical ketosis, lipidosis and hypocalcemia in western Santa Catarina differ from data found in the literature

Subclinical hypomagnesemia: Prevalence and causes in dairy cows in the semiarid region of the state of Paraíba, Brazil

“…The mean prevalence found in this research is similar to results found by Masoero et al (2003), in which 12% of cows had serum Mg levels below the recommended levels, but higher than those found by Neves et al (2017) and Fiorentin et al (2018), where 4% and 7.4% of the animals respectively were classified as having the disorder. Although commercial mineral supplement is considered the most appropriate choice of meeting the mineral demands of the animals, when not correctly supplied, it can cause an imbalance in blood mineral levels, and lead to disorders in the animal's metabolism.…”

Compositional and functional properties of milk and dairy products derived from cows fed pasture or concentrate‐based diets

“…Incidences of sub‐clinical acidosis on high‐producing conventional dairy farms are commonly attributed to overfeeding of high‐starch, grain‐based concentrates (Fiorentin et al., 2018; Nocek, 1997; Plaizier et al., 2014), which provide excessive levels of ruminally fermentable carbohydrate, leading to lactic acid and volatile FA accumulation and, consequently, reduced rumen pH (Broderick, 2003; Nocek, 1997). This effect is often associated with the occurrence of milk fat depression (MFD) (Krause & Oetzel, 2006; Stone, 2004) caused by inhibition of rumen microflora and, thus, reduced biohydrogenation of dietary FA, though this may be compounded by the behavioral effects of acidosis in cows, such as reduced feed intake and the resultant insufficient nutritional status (Plaizier et al., 2008).…”

Periparturient Dönemde Süt Sığırlarında Sıklıkla Görülen Subklinik Metabolik Hastalıklara Güncel Yaklaşımlar

“…Ayrıca, bu durum metabolik hastalıklara yol açan hormon ve metabolitlerin dengesizliğine de neden olabilmektedir [14]. Periparturient dönemde belirlenen ve en sık ortaya çıkan subklinik metabolik hastalıklar subklinik ketozis, subakut rumen asidosiz, subklinik hipokalsemidir [15].…”