The global livestock production landscape is in transition. To support veterinarians in navigating current and future challenges, Bayer focused on scientific education and innovations that contribute to cattle health and well-being at the World Buiatrics Congress 2016, currently meeting in Dublin, Ireland.
"There is growing emphasis on quality and sustainability, and at the same time, producers are faced with various challenges that can impact cattle health and well-being," said Dr. Almut Hoffmann, head of the Farm Animals business at Animal Health, Bayer. "Innovations that contribute to cattle health are now more important than ever before."
To support veterinarians in addressing current and future challenges, Bayer's International Cattle Symposium - held just prior to the World Buiatrics Congress - and Satellite Symposium - scheduled for July 6 - features a line-up of experts on the latest scientific developments in dairy and beef cattle health. Key highlights include herd management and productivity, new insights to lameness, metabolic diseases, innate immunity, as well as the epidemiology of diseases in relation to herd size.
The Symposium was a platform for the exchange of knowledge and ideas for more than 270 participants from more than 25 countries.
New digital resource
Bayer unveiled "Ketosis - latest insights: prevention, therapy and useful hints," a first-of-its-kind, mobile-enabled digital whitepaper available at KetoLution.com that offers veterinarians and farmers a resource on ketosis, scientific insights on the impact of the disease, as well as useful tools to help optimize dairy herd management.
The whitepaper also revealed that ketone bodies play a more significant role in metabolic diseases than was previously realized, and that beta-hydroxybutyrate is a good indicator of the presence of subclinical ketosis in dairy cattle.
Metabolic diseases negatively impact dairy cattle health and welfare and are associated with increased veterinary care and lost productivity, Bayer said.
"Recognizing the significance of ketone bodies is a positive step towards further enhancing dairy cattle health and welfare," said Rinse Boersma, dairy species manager, Animal Health, Bayer. "Veterinarians can now reliably detect the presence of subclinical ketosis in dairy herds with a simple blood test, and act quickly with the appropriate corrective measures to arrest disease progression."
BCS Cowdition
Bayer also unveiled its enhanced BCS Cowdition smartphone application that is designed to support ease and accuracy of body condition scoring (BCS) of dairy cows. The upgrade helps farmers to improve herd health management, by enabling assessment of individual cows' BCS scores based on its lactation cycle, alerts for cows that need to be attended to and a dashboard that offers farmers an overview of their entire herd's health. BCS Cowdition is available in 10 languages and is free for download from the AppStore and GooglePlay.
Ketosis is a metabolic state in which there is a reduced availability of glucose, and most of the body's energy supply comes from ketone bodies in the blood. Ketone bodies (acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate and breakdown product acetone) are produced by the liver from fatty acids, and are particularly harmful due to their high oxidative potential and associated induction of oxidative damage.
Excessive or prolonged ketone metabolism has negative side effects and can severely impair health and performance. Signs of ketosis in cattle include: reduced appetite and motility of the rumen, solid consistency of the feces or constipation, and fruity smelling breath. Ketosis is associated with impaired performance, fertility and health disorders.
Subclinical ketosis is an important condition of dairy cows during the transition period. It is defined as increased blood concentration of beta-hydroxybutyrate without any clinical signs. Subclinical ketosis is estimated to be present in 20% of the global dairy cattle population, but is largely undetected due to the lack of signs, Bayer said. Untreated, it can lead to immunosuppression and secondary diseases such as mastitis, metritis and ketosis, which are among the top dairy herd health challenges faced by veterinarians and farmers around the world.