Short communication: Association between udder health status and blood serum proteins in dairy cows

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between udder health (UH) status and blood serum proteins (i.e., total protein, albumin, globulin, and albumin-to-globulin ratio) in dairy cows. Blood and milk samples were collected from 1,508 cows of 6 different breeds (Holstein Friesian, Brown Swiss, Jersey, Simmental, Rendena, and Alpine Grey) that were housed in 41 multibreed herds. Bacteriological analysis was performed on milk samples with somatic cell count (SCC) >100,000 cells/mL and bacteria identification was confirmed by multiplex-PCR assays. Milk samples were grouped into 7 clusters of UH status: healthy (cows with milk SCC <100,000 cells/mL and not cultured); culture-negative samples with low, medium, or high SCC; and culture-positive samples with contagious, environmental, and opportunistic intramammary infections. Data of blood serum proteins were analyzed using a linear mixed model that included the fixed effects of stage of lactation, parity, breed, herd productivity (high or low production) and UH status, and the random effect of herd-date within herd productivity. Culture-negative samples with high milk SCC, which were most likely undergoing a strong inflammatory response and whose pathogens could not be isolated because they were engulfed by macrophages or because they had already cleared, and milk samples infected by contagious and environmental bacteria were associated with greater globulin concentrations (and lower albumin-to-globulin ratio) in blood. Variation in blood serum proteins seems to be associated with inflammatory status rather than infection, as serum globulin significantly increased in UH status groups with the highest milk SCC and no differences were observed among intramammary infections pathogens. Blood serum proteins can be a mammary gland inflammation indicator, but cannot be used to differentiate among different UH status groups.