The relationship between milk yield, composition and tissue damage in a case of subclinical mastitis

Abstract

Summary: A chemical, cytological and bacteriological examination of the milk from each quarter of a cow suffering from subclinical mastitis, but giving 5–6 gal of milk per day, was made at weekly intervals during the first 84 days after parturition. The infection, caused by micrococcal and staphylococcal bacteria, resisted repeated treatments with various antibiotics administered via the teat canals and also intramuscularly, although in vitro the bacteria were susceptible to all the antibiotics used. The cow was slaughtered and a histological examination made of the udder in an attempt to establish the cause of the continuing infection and to assess the extent of tissue damage. Two quarters each contained large abscesses in the upper level of the udder and these could have acted as reservoirs of infection; no cause was established for the other two quarters and it can only be assumed that reinfection occurred from the two abscessed quarters.The amount of active lesions in the lobules of all the quarters was small, 1–6%, but half or more of all the lobules were involuted, although only a minority appeared to have involuted as a result of infection. In the two abscessed quarters there was extensive damage to the duct system, 23 and 31% showing lesions.When the milk contained an abnormally large number of cells the chemical composition was also abnormal, containing less lactose (and hence less solids-not-fat) and having a nitrogen distribution in which there was more blood serum albumin and globulin and less casein than usual. Cell content and chemical composition were better indicators of tissue damage than the presence of mastitis organisms. It is estimated that the solids-not-fat content of the milk of the whole udder as a result of the infections was considerably lower than it would otherwise have been (8·0 instead of 8·8%) and that the daily loss in milk yield was about 9 lb.