Assessing Financial Impacts of Subclinical Mastitis on Colombian Dairy Farms
Bovine mastitis is a dairy cattle disease with high economic impact. Subclinical mastitis (SCM) contributes to most of the financial losses. Colombia dairy sector accounts for 2.3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 24.3% of the livestock GDP. Milk production reaches 6,500 million liters/year f...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-11-01
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Series: | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
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Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2018.00273/full |
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author | Jaime Romero Efraín Benavides Carlos Meza |
author_facet | Jaime Romero Efraín Benavides Carlos Meza |
author_sort | Jaime Romero |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Bovine mastitis is a dairy cattle disease with high economic impact. Subclinical mastitis (SCM) contributes to most of the financial losses. Colombia dairy sector accounts for 2.3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 24.3% of the livestock GDP. Milk production reaches 6,500 million liters/year from nearly 500,000 cattle farms and is mainly based on small-scale production systems. This study evaluates the financial impact of SCM and the potential for its control in three dairy farm strata in a region in Colombia. The objectives of the study were 1) to determine the perception of farmers about the SCM problem on their farms, 2) to assess prevalence and financial impact of SCM on farms and in the “Area five” sanitary region of the Bogota plateau, and 3) to assess costs and effectiveness of control methods of SCM. Information about disease management and decision-making process was obtained through a participatory epidemiology workshop and applying a semi-structured survey. A two-stage stratified cross sectional epidemiological study was conducted on dairy cattle from a region with approximately 400 farms and 12,000 cows, with a sample size of 55 farms. Prevalence of SCM was calculated by defining a cow as positive for the disease when any quarter had a somatic cell count (SCC) higher than 250 × 103 cells/ml. The prevalence of SCM in cows was 55.2%; significant differences were found between strata. Assessment of the financial impact of SCM in terms of milk losses was conducted using spreadsheet models. Milk production losses per farm ranged from 1.3% to 13.5%, and the economic impact in the region was estimated over USD $800.000 per year. The financial impact was greater in small- and medium-sized farms than large farms, and it was associated with the severity of SCC per quarter. Principal component analysis showed interactions, irrespective of the individual effect, and suggested three main groups of control interventions: application of basic milking hygiene practices, increase in the level of hygiene practices and veterinary advice, and SCM diagnosis and dry-cow treatment. Lack of information on management and production at farms promotes intuitive decision-making. Further research for the deeper understanding of intervention costs and effectiveness is suggested. |
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format | Article |
id | doaj.art-ff2f842ed8134ccfaf43474a747a3c73 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2297-1769 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-20T21:50:35Z |
publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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series | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
spelling | doaj.art-ff2f842ed8134ccfaf43474a747a3c732022-12-21T19:25:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Veterinary Science2297-17692018-11-01510.3389/fvets.2018.00273303723Assessing Financial Impacts of Subclinical Mastitis on Colombian Dairy FarmsJaime Romero0Efraín Benavides1Carlos Meza2Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, Lima, PeruFaculty of Agricultural Sciences, Universidad de La Salle, Bogota, ColombiaFaculty of Economic and Social Sciences, Universidad de La Salle, Bogota, ColombiaBovine mastitis is a dairy cattle disease with high economic impact. Subclinical mastitis (SCM) contributes to most of the financial losses. Colombia dairy sector accounts for 2.3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 24.3% of the livestock GDP. Milk production reaches 6,500 million liters/year from nearly 500,000 cattle farms and is mainly based on small-scale production systems. This study evaluates the financial impact of SCM and the potential for its control in three dairy farm strata in a region in Colombia. The objectives of the study were 1) to determine the perception of farmers about the SCM problem on their farms, 2) to assess prevalence and financial impact of SCM on farms and in the “Area five” sanitary region of the Bogota plateau, and 3) to assess costs and effectiveness of control methods of SCM. Information about disease management and decision-making process was obtained through a participatory epidemiology workshop and applying a semi-structured survey. A two-stage stratified cross sectional epidemiological study was conducted on dairy cattle from a region with approximately 400 farms and 12,000 cows, with a sample size of 55 farms. Prevalence of SCM was calculated by defining a cow as positive for the disease when any quarter had a somatic cell count (SCC) higher than 250 × 103 cells/ml. The prevalence of SCM in cows was 55.2%; significant differences were found between strata. Assessment of the financial impact of SCM in terms of milk losses was conducted using spreadsheet models. Milk production losses per farm ranged from 1.3% to 13.5%, and the economic impact in the region was estimated over USD $800.000 per year. The financial impact was greater in small- and medium-sized farms than large farms, and it was associated with the severity of SCC per quarter. Principal component analysis showed interactions, irrespective of the individual effect, and suggested three main groups of control interventions: application of basic milking hygiene practices, increase in the level of hygiene practices and veterinary advice, and SCM diagnosis and dry-cow treatment. Lack of information on management and production at farms promotes intuitive decision-making. Further research for the deeper understanding of intervention costs and effectiveness is suggested.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2018.00273/fullanimal health economicsbovine mastitisproducers attitudesproduction systemveterinary epidemiology |
spellingShingle | Jaime Romero Efraín Benavides Carlos Meza Assessing Financial Impacts of Subclinical Mastitis on Colombian Dairy Farms Frontiers in Veterinary Science animal health economics bovine mastitis producers attitudes production system veterinary epidemiology |
title | Assessing Financial Impacts of Subclinical Mastitis on Colombian Dairy Farms |
title_full | Assessing Financial Impacts of Subclinical Mastitis on Colombian Dairy Farms |
title_fullStr | Assessing Financial Impacts of Subclinical Mastitis on Colombian Dairy Farms |
title_full_unstemmed | Assessing Financial Impacts of Subclinical Mastitis on Colombian Dairy Farms |
title_short | Assessing Financial Impacts of Subclinical Mastitis on Colombian Dairy Farms |
title_sort | assessing financial impacts of subclinical mastitis on colombian dairy farms |
topic | animal health economics bovine mastitis producers attitudes production system veterinary epidemiology |
url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2018.00273/full |
work_keys_str_mv | AT jaimeromero assessingfinancialimpactsofsubclinicalmastitisoncolombiandairyfarms AT efrainbenavides assessingfinancialimpactsofsubclinicalmastitisoncolombiandairyfarms AT carlosmeza assessingfinancialimpactsofsubclinicalmastitisoncolombiandairyfarms |