Comparison of spatial patterns of recorded mastitis incidence and somatic cell counts in Swedish dairy cows

• Disease recording in Swedish dairy cattle is made by veterinarians. The study objectives were to study if there were any geographical regions of possible underreporting of clinical mastitis. We did this by comparing mastitis incidence to udder health measures based on somatic cell counts, a parameter recorded on a monthly basis regardless of the cow's disease status. The approach was to estimate a surface of relative risk for clinical mastitis and compare areas of significantly lower relative risk to an extraction map of udder health. There were areas with a significantly lower relative risk for clinical mastitis with a high proportion of cows with poor udder health thus suggesting an underreporting of clinical mastitis. The result enables targeted studies of reasons for discrepancies and proper measures to be taken in areas with a deficit of registered clinical mastitis. High quality of disease recording for dairy cattle is of interest not only for the dairy producer but also for disease surveillance and food safety purposes.

Ämnesord

LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER  -- Veterinärmedicin -- Klinisk vetenskap (hsv//swe)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES  -- Veterinary Science -- Clinical Science (hsv//eng)

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)