Natural Remedy Investigated to Reduce Mastitis

John DavisGovernment, Health, usda

Researchers for the USDA are looking at a natural remedy to delay and reduce cases of mastitis in dairy cattle. This story from the Agricultural Research Service says scientists at the National Animal Disease Center (NADC) in Ames, Iowa, have found that vitamin D may be another treatment for mastitis instead of antibiotics:

Molecular biologist John Lippolis, in the Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research Unit at NADC, looked at the role of a natural form of vitamin D—prehormone 25-hydroxyvitamin D—in altering the response of the cow’s immune system to a mastitis pathogen, Streptococcus uberis.

Research indicates that precise levels of vitamin D need to be in the bloodstream to prevent conditions such as rickets, or softening of the bones. Higher levels are required for proper immune function. Prehormone 25-hydroxyvitamin D is found in the blood, but very little is found in milk.

The researchers found that direct infusions of vitamin D into infected areas significantly reduced bacterial counts, and cows treated with vitamin D showed fewer clinical signs than cows that received no treatment. Milk production was also higher in animals treated with vitamin D.

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