Environmental and Breed Risk Factors Associated with the Prevalence of Subclinical Mastitis in Dual-Purpose Livestock Systems in the Arauca Floodplain Savannah, Colombian Orinoquia
by
, , and
Arcesio Salamanca-Carreño
1,*
,
Mauricio Vélez-Terranova
2,
Diana Patricia Barajas-Pardo
1,
Rita Tamasaukas
3,
Raúl Jáuregui-Jiménez
4 and
Pere M. Parés-Casanova
5
1
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Villavicencio 500001, Colombia
2
Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Palmira 763531, Colombia
3
Unidad de Biotecnología, LABIPRESAN-UNERG, San Juan de los Morros 2301, Venezuela
4
Centro Universitario de Oriente, Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala, Chiquimula 20001, Guatemala
5
Institució Catalana d’Història Natural, 08001 Cataluña, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2023, 13(24), 3815; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13243815
Submission received: 2 November 2023
/
Revised: 1 December 2023
/
Accepted: 7 December 2023
/
Published: 11 December 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnosis and Prevention of Endemic Diseases in Ruminants)
Simple Summary
Bovine mastitis is inflammation of the mammary gland. Subclinical mastitis (SCM) does not present visible changes in the udder or milk but does result in reduced production and alterations in milk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the environmental and breed risk factors associated with the presence of SCM in dual-purpose livestock systems in Arauca, Colombian Orinoquia. Milk samples were taken from the individual mammary quarters of 481 cows and the on-farm California Mastitis Test (CMT) was applied. Risk factors were determined by multiple logistic regression analysis. The response variable was the absence (0) or presence (1) of SCM. The environmental risk factors that were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with the presence of SCM were the number of cows and milk production. The Taurus-Indicus and composite breeds showed greater susceptibility to SCM compared to the Indicus predominance. The prevalence of SCM detected in this study is considered low compared to other studies in tropical regions.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the environmental and breed risk factors associated with the prevalence of subclinical mastitis (SCM) in cows in the dual-purpose livestock system of Arauca, Colombian Orinoquia. Milk samples were taken from 1924 mammary quarters, corresponding to 481 cows on 28 different farms, and the California Mastitis Test (CMT) was applied. Risk factors associated with SCM were determined using multiple logistic regression analysis. The response variable was the presence (1) or absence (0) of SCM. Breed was included as a genetic risk factor, and daily milk production, number of cows in production, lactation month, calving number, cow age, climatic period, and body condition were included as environmental risk factors. The analysis of the odds ratio (OR) of significant effects indicated that the factors significantly associated with the presence of SCM were the number of cows (OR = 2.29; p = 0.005), milk production (OR = 0.88; p = 0.045), and the Taurus-Indicus breeds (OR = 1.79; p = 0.009) and composite breed (OR = 3.95; p = 0.005). In this study, the occurrence of SCM was determined by the following risk factors: number of cows, milk production, and breed. Likewise, the highest prevalence seemed to occur on farms with less technological development and sanitary management of producers from the lowest socioeconomic stratum.
Keywords:
calving number; dairy farms; genetic traits; hand milking; prevalence level
