Infrared thermography as non-invasive technique for early detection of mastitis in dairy animals-A review

Abstract

“Mastitis” is one of the major challenges for dairy industry, worldwide, as this is most common and costliest disease of dairy animals and contributes a substantial economical loss to dairy farmers. Subclinical stage of mastitis i.e. Sub-clinical mastitis (SCM) in dairy cow is matter of great concern for farmers as its incidence is more as compared to clinical form. In most of animal farms, monitoring of sub-clinical and clinical mastitis (CM) is usually performed through indirect test such as pH, electrical conductivity, somatic cell count (SCC), California mastitis test (CMT), culture test and biomarker tests. But, apart from these, there is a need of new rapid and sensitive technology to identify udder infections at early stages. Early detection of mastitis using non-invasive technology is need of the hour to reduce the economic loss of the dairy industry and farmers. It is well evident that, skin surface temperature is a critical indicator of bio-physiological health status of an organism. As a result of infection-induced inflammatory reactions, local blood circulation, metabolism and skin surface temperature increases. Thus, by monitoring the emitted heat from udder, can help in early detection of mastitis. Moreover, Infrared thermography (IRT) using highly sensitive thermal camera is able to monitor subtle change in skin surface temperature. IRT with mobile based application can further play an important role in the management of dairy farms on various aspects.