Determining the Cost-Effectiveness of Treating Dairy Cows with Subclinical Ketosis during the First Week of Lactation-Juniper Publishers
Journal of Dairy & Veterinary Sciences - Juniper Publishers Introduction Ketosis is a major metabolic disorder of dairy cattle in the United States, affecting an estimated 40% of all lactations in the industry, between clinical and subclinical cases [ 1 ]. Clinical ketosis is characterized by high levels of ketones in the blood and is manifested by lethargy and anorexia in the peri-partum dairy cow [ 2 ]. Subclinical ketosis (SCK) requires a blood, milk, or urine test to diagnose. Even though it is not outwardly noticeable, it is still estimated to cost the farmer $289/case due to both the direct and indirect costs, especially with the loss in milk yield [ 3 ]. It has been shown that ketosis and negative energy balance have negative consequences on reproduction and immune function [ 4 ]. Subclinical ketosis is often defined as blood BHB concentrations of >1.2mM/L and < 3.0 mM/L [ 1 ]. McArt et al. [ 5 ] showed that PPG h...