RESUMO
Objective: determination of frequency of subclinical ketosis of dairy farms of Kerman by measurement of beta hydroxy butyrate
Design: cross sectional study
Animals: a total of 90 lactating cows in 3-6 weeks of lactation
Procedure: in this study the frequency of subclinical ketosis in 90 cows of 1 dairy farms containing 3542 cows were evaluated. Cows were selected in 3 to 6 weeks after parturition. The blood samples of each week for each cow were submitted to laboratory for detection of BHB and glucose. Statistical analysis: Student t-test, analysis of variance
Results: thirteen [14.4%] and 5 cows [5.55%] have showed ketonemia with cut of point of BHB levels [> 1.2 mmol/l] and [>I .7 mmol/l] respectively. The percentage of subclinical ketosis in city of Kerman is low but this is similar to some reports of the other parts of the world with range of 7-34%. The range of the glucose levels in these cows was 28-42 mg/dl and there is a reverse relationship between level of glucose and ketonemia
Clinical implication: it seems that some percentages of our daires suffer from subclinical ketosis that is effect on lactation level and some other organs mechanisms. However, further investigations should be gathered about the real cut of point of BHB values in Iranian cows