Effect of bovine subclinical mastitis on milk production and economic performance of Brazilian dairy farms

Authors

  • Juliano Leonel Goncalves Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Nutrição e Produção Animal, Pirassununga – SP, Brazil; Michigan State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, East Lansing – MI, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5711-5181
  • Gustavo Freu Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Nutrição e Produção Animal, Pirassununga – SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2708-5414
  • Breno Luís Nery Garcia Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Nutrição e Produção Animal, Pirassununga – SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0188-5595
  • Melina Melo Barcelos Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Nutrição e Produção Animal, Pirassununga – SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7193-3022
  • Bruna Gomes Alves Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Nutrição e Produção Animal, Pirassununga – SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-8243
  • Renata de Freitas Leite Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Nutrição e Produção Animal, Pirassununga – SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0732-1563
  • Camylla Pedrosa Monteiro Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Nutrição e Produção Animal, Pirassununga – SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9988-2570
  • Cristian Marlon de Magalhães Rodrigues Martins Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Nutrição e Produção Animal, Pirassununga – SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3476-3458
  • Tiago Tomazi Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Nutrição e Produção Animal, Pirassununga – SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8978-6254
  • Henk Hogeveen Wageningen University, Business Economics Group, Wageningen, The Netherlands https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9443-1412
  • Marcos Veiga dos Santos Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Nutrição e Produção Animal, Pirassununga – SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4273-3494

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1678-4456.bjvras.2023.208514

Keywords:

Subclinical mammary infections, Alteration of milk composition, Indirect cost, Milk loss, Financial loss

Abstract

This review summarized the significant results from Brazilian studies published in peer-reviewed scientific papers about the effect of bovine subclinical mastitis (SM) on economic performance and milk production. Different approaches were considered for (i) disease detection (indirect measurement of somatic cell count (SCC) and directly using microbiological culture) and (ii) milk sampling strategy (mammary quarters, composite cow samples, and bulk milk tank). Globally, bovine mastitis is the most common disease of dairy herds, and the subclinical presentation is the most frequent. Dairy farmers usually underestimate the economic losses associated with SM because no visual changes in milk and quarters, udder, and systemic symptoms are observed. SM reduces milk yield and quality, reducing dairy herds’ profitability. The estimation of losses depends on the causative pathogen, the lactation stage, and the parity of affected cows. Thus, estimating the economic caused by SM in milk production and economic performance in dairy herds can be used to decide which mastitis control strategies to adopt. Mastitis control involves adopting specific measures associated with the characteristics of each herd, the period of the highest frequency of cases, the transmission form, and the profile of the pathogens involved in cases of intramammary infection. Thus, using individual SCC, the microbiological identification of pathogens causing SM, adopting efficient drying-off protocols, and other management practices are essential for mastitis control, improved milk quality, and greater profitability of dairy herds.

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Author Biography

  • Juliano Leonel Goncalves , Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Nutrição e Produção Animal, Pirassununga – SP, Brazil; Michigan State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, East Lansing – MI, USA

    Juliano Leonel Gonçalves graduou-se em Medicina Veterinária pela Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina - UDESC (2010), e concluiu seu doutorado (4/2017) e mestrado (11/2012) pela Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia da Universidade de São Paulo FMVZ/USP. Recentemente, finalizou seu doutorado com ênfase em Ciências Veterinárias no Departamento de Nutrição e Produção Animal FMVZ-USP; projeto intitulado 'Impacto da mastite subclínica sobre o desempenho econômico de rebanhos leiteiros', sob orientação do renomado Prof. Dr. Marcos Veiga dos Santos. O pesquisador obteve, durante o doutorado, auxílio a pesquisa (Proc. FAPESP No. 2014/17411-6) e bolsa FAPESP (Proc. No. 2013/23613-8), e durante o mestrado foi bolsista CNPq, quando trabalhou com assuntos relacionados ao efeito da mastite subclínica causada por Corynebacterium spp. sobre a CCS, produção e composição do leite de vacas. Durante a graduação, trabalhou como colaborador no projeto amigo do carroceiro (UDESC) na área de Saúde Pública sob a orientação da Profa. Dra. Márcia Regina Pfuetzenreiter, contudo nas fases finais da graduação enfatizou mais a bovinocultura de leite, qualidade do leite, tecnologia e inspeção de produtos lácteos e derivados. Em 2011, realizou uma parte do projeto de mestrado no Instituto de Biociências da UNESP, Botucatu; sob a orientação do Prof. Dr. João Pessoa de Araújo Júnior. Na UNESP o pesquisador cursou disciplinas e participou de cursos de biologia molecular com foco em plataformas de sequenciamento de genes. Em 2012, o pesquisador viajou para os Estados Unidos com o intuito de melhorar a fluência com a língua inglesa, e naquela época, frequentou o Embassy School, período integral. Final de 2014 e início de 2015, o pesquisador trabalhou intensivamente na Universidade da Carolina do Norte (NCSU) no laboratório de Qualidade do Leite sob a supervisão do Prof. Dr. Kevin Anderson e da especialista Roberta Lyman. Realizou sete meses de doutorado Sanduíche na Universidade de Wageningen (Holanda), considerada melhor Universidade na área de Agrobusiness, sob a orientação do renomado Dr. Henk Hogeveen, local em que cursou disciplinas como: economia de doenças, análise de risco e tomada de decisões, e simulações econômicas visando otimização de custos. A área de atuação do pesquisador é focada no controle de mastite e qualidade do leite (análises físico-química e microbiológica). Atualmente é pesquisador do laboratório de pesquisa em Qualidade do Leite da Universidade de São Paulo/USP, QualiLeite. Nos últimos 2 anos o pesquisador juntamente com sua equipe de trabalho tem conseguido enquadrar os resultados de projetos científicos nos melhores jornais de sua área, como por exemplo o Journal of Dairy Science, Veterinary Microbiology e Journal of Clinical Microbiology, bem como organizar importantes eventos na área da Qualidade do Leite, como o WorkShop Mastite e o Congresso Internacional da Mastite.

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2023-10-23

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Vol. 60 (2023)

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REVIEW ARTICLE

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1.
Goncalves JL, Freu G, Garcia BLN, Barcelos MM, Alves BG, Leite R de F, et al. Effect of bovine subclinical mastitis on milk production and economic performance of Brazilian dairy farms. Braz. J. Vet. Res. Anim. Sci. [Internet]. 2023 Oct. 23 [cited 2024 Apr. 27];60:e208514. Available from: https://revistas.usp.br/bjvras/article/view/208514