PREVALENCE OF SUB-CLINCIAL KETOSIS AND ITS ASSOCIATED COW LEVEL RISK FACTORS IN LACTATING DAIRY CROSS-BRED COWS IN BANGLADESH

Abstract

Background: Ketosis is one of the most economically important metabolic diseases commonly found in high milk producing dairy cows worldwide. Objectives: The main objectives of this study were: (a) to evaluate the relationship between the urinary ketone bodies Rothera’s test and the serum glucose level to determine the prevalence of sub-clinical ketosis (SCK) and (b) to explore the cow-level risk factors associated with SCK in cross-bred dairy cows. Materials and Methods: Two types of cross-bred, Holstein Friesian  Local (HF  L) and Shahiwal  Local (SH  L) of a total of 68 lactating cows of three dairy herds were randomly selected to study the SCK from January to May 2012. Serum glucose level (SGL) was estimated by using Reflotron Glucose test strip (Roche) and urinary ketone bodies (UKB) by Rothera’s nitroprusside test. Results: An overall 25% prevalence of SCK was detected by Rothera’s test of which comparatively higher percentage of SCK was recorded in HF  L (25.9%) than SH  L (21.43%) cross-bred lactating cows. The overall SGL of Rothera’s test positive cases varied from 30 to 39 mg / dl with an average of 34.24  2.44 which was significantly (p < 0.001) lower than the Rothera’s test negative cows (40 to 49 and 46.27  3.77 mg / dl). The SCK detected on Rothera’s test was compared with SGL which was 100% sensitivity at  39 mg / dl which could be considered as a ‘cutoff point’ of SGL for SCK. Results of the Rothera’s test were highly correlated with the concentrations of SGL. The significantly (p < 0.01) highest prevalence of SCK was recorded in the fourth parity (66.7%) and fourth week of lactation (46.7%) in comparison to their respective parameters. Conclusions: The present findings reveal that the prevalence of SCK in lactating dairy cows in Bangladesh is very high and remain undetected and unattended. To prevent the SCK, feeding a good feed stuff and implementing good management at the transition period with regular testing for detecting SCK to reduce the consequences and economic losses caused by SCK in dairy industry in Bangladesh. Keywords: Serum glucose level, Rothera’s test, Subclinical ketosis, Cross-bred dairy cows, Cow-level risk factors