Infrared thermography as a tool for the detection of sub-clinical mastitis in bovine dairy cattle
Abstract
Infrared thermography (IRT) was evaluated as a means of detecting sub-clinical mastitis during the milking process, in milk samples (IRTMS) and in the short milking tubes (IRTST). During pre-milking, aseptic milk samples were collected for bacteriological and somatic cell count (SCC) analysis followed by IRTMS (n=127). During milking, data on the real temperature of the milk (RTM) and IRTST (n=129 quarters) were recorded at 30 s intervals. The RTM of the short tube and milk samples were measured with thermometer probes and used to study the association of the variables with IRT. To describe the relationship between TIR and the sensitivity of mastitis in individual mammary quarters, a scheme of classification by SCC (103 cél.ml1) was used: low count (≤200), intermediate (>200≤750) and high (>750). Ambient temperature (AT), relative humidity and rectal temperature of the animals were also determined. Bacteriological results were grouped by Gram-family for further analysis. No differences in mean IRT were found between low-, medium- and high-SCC (P > 0.05). However, TIRST tended to be higher (P=0.0579) in milk samples with Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria relative to samples with no bacterial growth. In conclusion, the utility of IRTMS and IRTST as a sub-clinical mastitic detection tool was limited. This could be attributed, at least in part, to diurnal AT variations [e.g., r=0.69 (P<0.0001) between IRTST and time of day at milking]. Future studies are required to better characterize the association between IRT and mastitic pathogens.
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Copyright (c) 2018 Jaime Enrique Curbelo Rodríguez, Abel David Almeida Montenegro, Guillermo Ortiz Colón, Héctor Luis Sánchez Rodríguez, Esbal Jiménez Cabán
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