Prevalence of subclinical hypocalcemia in dairy cows in the Sousa city micro-region, Paraíba state

Abstract

Subclinical hypocalcemia is a metabolic disorder characterised by a decrease in serum calcium (Ca) levels, with no clinical symptoms. The aim of this study was to determine the punctual prevalence of subclinical hypocalcemia in dairy cows, in the Sousa city micro-region, Paraíba state. Samples were collected from 29 dairy farms, consisting of 153 and 296 blood samples in the pre- and postpartum period respectively. In relation to the mineral supplementation profile, 89.25% of the properties use a commercial supplement. On average, 40.53% of lactating cows presented total serum Ca levels under the lower limit of 8.0 mg/dL, with an exclusive supplement of NaCl resulting in a higher percentage of cows, 61.11%, with the condition of subclinical hypocalcemia. For ionized Ca, the average prevalence of subclinical hypocalcemia was 21.16%. The prevalence of subclinical hypocalcemia for total serum Ca was 37.25 and 42.23% of cows in the pre- and postpartum period respectively. The type of mineral supplement did not influence (P > .05) total and ionized serum Ca levels in lactating cows. There was no significant difference (P > .05) for total and ionized serum Ca levels as a function of the reproductive period in lactating cows. Subclinical hypocalcemia was evident in the dairy cows under evaluation and occurred with an average punctual prevalence of 40.34%. Commercial supplement is the most common form of mineral mixture used; however, it was not able to promote an increase in the levels of total and ionized serum Ca levels due to errors in managing the supply.

Validation of the bovine blood calcium checker as a rapid and simple measuring tool for the ionized calcium concentration in cattle

“…As intravenous 22.5% calcium borogluconate infusion immediately induces a state of hypercalcemia, followed by reduction of the whole blood ionized calcium (iCa) and serum total calcium (tCa) concentrations 24 hr later [ 28 ]. Therefore, it is difficult to maintain an ideal blood calcium level without monitoring the blood calcium level [ 11 ].…”

La hipocalcemia en vacas lecheras y sus alternativas diagnósticas en campo: Revisión

“…Respecto a los valores normales de calcio en las vacas adultas, la literatura reporta una gran variabilidad, encontrándose resultados de 8,5 a 10 mg/dL (Goff, 2008), ≥8,9 a 11,0 mg/dL (Herdt et al, 2000), 10 a 12 mg/dL (Manual Merck de Veterinaria, 2000), entre otros; pero coincidiendo en que niveles <8m/dL y <4 mg/dL en tCa y iCa, respectivamente, son considerados como hipocalcemia (Herdt et al, 2000). De la misma forma, cuando los valores están por debajo de 5.5 mg/dL de tCa el animal comenzará a presentar signos clínicos (da Silva et al, 2019).…”

“…Muchos de los problemas descritos anteriormente pueden presentarse en la SCH. Por esta razón es importante como medida diagnóstica realizar mediciones de los niveles de Ca (da Silva et al, 2019;Van Saun, 2016) en el periodo de estrés metabólico, es decir, antes del parto y después para identificar vacas que presentarán problemas (Van Saun, 1997). Al no estar familiarizados con métodos rentables (económicos y efectivos) para la medición de Ca en campo, suele ser imposible saber si la aplicación del Ca al postparto es usado como tratamiento preventivo o curativo de la enfermedad (McArt & Oetzel, 2015).…”

Relationship between blood calcium level and post-milking teat canal closure in dairy cows

“…Many studies have reported that subclinical hypocalcemia occurs in almost half of the cows depending on parity in dairy herds (Jawor et al, 2012;Neves et al, 2018;Da Silva et al, 2019). Subclinical hypocalcemia impairs the metabolic and physiological responses that regulate the welfare and productivity of transitional dairy cows (Rodrigues et al, 2020).…”