Mastitis is costly to manage on farms with its effects on milk quality and production is well known. Mastitis also results in an increased risk of culling through decreased reproductive performance. Compared to healthy cows, the odds of pregnancy by 29% and 46% for cows with mild and moderate to severe cases of mastitis respectively.
Two large studies (the MAMMARY study and the FERTILE study) have shown that cows with mild to moderate mastitis that were treated with the anti-inflammatory Metacam 20, in addition to antibiotics, had improved fertility and infection cure rates compared to those treated with a placebo.
Findings included:
Cows treated with Metacam 20 had 32% higher bacteriological cure rates compared to control cows.
An increased first service conception rate.
At 120 days post-calving, more cows were pregnant in the Metacam 20 group than the control group (40% vs 31%).
Cows with mastitis were 42% less likely to be culled when treated with Metacam 20.
Based on these results we recommend using Metacam 20 in conjunction with your standard antibiotic mastitis treatment. In addition to providing pain relief for your cows Metacam 20 can have long-term benefits for your herd.
