Livestock Production Management Division, ICAR- National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana-132001, India.
Microb Pathog. 2024 Nov;196:106964. doi: 10.1016/j.micpath.2024.106964. Epub 2024 Sep 21.
Mastitis is a global concern in the dairy sector, demanding innovative solutions for effective management for quality lifetime milk production. In this study, infrared thermography (IRT) as a non-invasive technology was integrated into routine farm activities for continuous health monitoring of animals. For 30 days, we systematically monitored the udder health status in 40 Sahiwal cows (160 quarters), employing IRT along with the California Mastitis Test (CMT). We also assessed somatic cell count (SCC), microbial identification, and milk quality parameters of representative samples. The thermal imaging data was analyzed, considering both backward propagation from the 0 day to the -10th day and forward propagation from the 0 day to the +10th day. Our findings revealed that on the 0 day, the mean temperatures of the udder surface skin temperature (USST) and teat skin surface temperature (TSST) exhibited differences (p < 0.05) between the quarters affected by sub-clinical mastitis (SCM) and clinical mastitis (CM) in comparison to the healthy quarters, with the highest degree of difference observed. The observed temperature differences between CM and SCM quarters compared to healthy ranged from 1.8 to 3.62 °C and 0.98 to 3.23 °C for USST, and from 1.68 to 3.16 °C and 0.56 to 2.32 °C for TSST, respectively. Furthermore, our observations indicated that both udder and teat quarters responded differently to mastitis. A temperature rise of 1.37 °C in SCM quarters and 1.75 °C in CM quarters was observed between the -10th and -8th day relative to day 0, with the increase being more pronounced in the morning hours. Also, a notable temperature surge occurred during the -2nd and -1st days relative to the 0 day. The logSCC values and milk quality parameters significantly differed (p < 0.05) between mastitis-affected and healthy samples. In addition, Staphylococcus spp. was identified as the predominant mastitis-causing pathogen in the bacteriological identification conducted in this study. Therefore, IRT efficiently assesses the initiation point of udder infection in Sahiwal cows, aiding in effective udder health management.
乳腺炎是奶制品行业的全球性问题，需要创新的解决方案来实现优质牛奶的终身生产。在这项研究中，红外热成像（IRT）作为一种非侵入性技术被整合到常规农场活动中，用于动物的持续健康监测。我们对 40 头萨希瓦尔奶牛（160 个乳区）的乳房健康状况进行了 30 天的系统监测，同时使用 IRT 和加利福尼亚乳房炎测试（CMT）。我们还评估了体细胞计数（SCC）、微生物鉴定和代表性样本的牛奶质量参数。我们分析了热成像数据，考虑了从第 0 天到第-10 天的向后传播和从第 0 天到第+10 天的向前传播。我们的研究结果表明，在第 0 天，受亚临床乳腺炎（SCM）和临床乳腺炎（CM）影响的乳区的乳房表面皮肤温度（USST）和乳头皮肤表面温度（TSST）的平均温度存在差异（p<0.05），与健康乳区相比，差异最大。与健康乳区相比，CM 和 SCM 乳区与健康乳区之间的观察到的温度差异分别为 1.8 至 3.62°C 和 0.98 至 3.23°C，USST 为 1.68 至 3.16°C 和 0.56 至 2.32°C，TSST。此外，我们的观察表明，乳房和乳头乳区对乳腺炎的反应不同。与第 0 天相比，SCM 乳区的温度上升了 1.37°C，CM 乳区的温度上升了 1.75°C，且在早晨更为明显。此外，与第 0 天相比，在第-2 天和第-1 天还出现了明显的温度骤增。乳腺炎影响和健康样本之间的 logSCC 值和牛奶质量参数有显著差异（p<0.05）。此外，在本研究进行的细菌学鉴定中，金黄色葡萄球菌被鉴定为主要的乳腺炎病原体。因此，IRT 可以有效地评估萨希瓦尔奶牛乳房感染的起始点，有助于进行有效的乳房健康管理。
