Veterinarija ir Zootechnika

The study was carried out to determine the influence of ketosis in cows during early lactation period, immediately after calving, on the occurrence of mastitis as a secondary disease and potential risk factor of recurrent mastitis, through monitoring of such udders during one lactation period. The research included 156 cows grouped into three groups of 52 cows from the Holstein Friesian and Simmental breeds. The first is a group with primary postpartum ketosis and secondary mastitis, the second group is with mastitis and free of ketosis, while the third is a control group of healthy cows. In order to prove ketosis, blood, milk and urine samples were examined for the presence of ketone bodies proven through laboratory tests. For the purposes of mastitis detection basic clinical evaluation of the affected udder was conducted and milk samples were taken for microbiological identification of causes of mastitis. Cows included in the first group, were monitored during the entire lactation in order to determine the number of cows with recurrent mastitis and the main risk factor that leads to the occurrence of recurrent mastitis, which is also the main goal of this paper. According the results in this study the recurrent mastitis was detected in total of 24 cows included in both groups for which, the common pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus is considered as the main cause for mastitis recurrence (87,5%). Statistical significance in milk yield was detected between control group and the groups with mastitis (p<0.05). The results in this study reveal that the metabolic disorder can be considered as a factor for recurrence of mastitis caused by the common pathogens and also mastitis can have significant impact on milk yield in dairy cattle.