Seasonal mastitis assessment in Holstein Friesian Crossbred cows using infrared thermography

Abstract

Mastitis remains a major challenge in the dairy sector, causing significant economic losses and impacting animal welfare globally. Early detection of sub-clinical (SCM) and clinical mastitis (CM) is crucial for effective management, particularly in varying environmental conditions. The current study aims at thermal imaging of the udder, teat, and short milking tube (SMT) of the milking machine across milking phases and seasons to assess SCM and CM via infra-red thermography (IRT) in a sub-tropical organised farm of Karnal, India. The udder health status of 98–117 lactating Holstein Friesian crossbred (HFCB) cows was screened monthly using IRT and further accessed using the California Mastitis Test (CMT) and somatic cell count (SCC). The thermal image analysis revealed a difference (p < 0.01) in the temperatures of seasonal analysis across milking phases for udder and teat skin surface temperature (USST and TSST) and the SMT of healthy, SCM, and CM quarters. The SMT reflected a rise of 4.19 and 6.68 °C in winter, 0.52 and 1.26 °C in summer, 1.32 and 2.63 °C in rainy, and 2.80 and 4.84 °C in autumn among the quarters affected with SCM and CM relative to healthy quarters. Thermal images for SMT, USST, and TSST revealed a very strong correlation with the CMT scores and log10SCC at p < 0.01. Thus, IRT emerges as a valuable and efficient tool that can aid in the diagnosis of mastitis detection across the seasons and milking phases in HFCB cows.

Keywords

• clinical mastitis
• sub-clinical mastitis
• short-milking-tube
• thermal image