Performance and health of dairy cows incompletely milked during the first five days in milk

Pendant la période de transition chez les vaches laitières, la demande énergétique pour initier la production de lait est très élevée, tandis que l’apport d’énergie est faible, ce qui crée inévitablement une balance énergétique négative. Ce déséquilibre physiologique constitue l'un des principaux facteurs de risque dans le développement de maladies de transition, et ensemble, ils peuvent influencer les performances reproductrices et augmenter le taux de réforme. De nouvelles stratégies, aidant les vaches laitières à supporter une production intensive, doivent donc être mises en place. Bien que des progrès remarquables aient été réalisés pour garantir un apport énergétique élevé, peu de recherches ont évalué la possibilité de contrôler les dépenses énergétiques. La traite incomplète des vaches en début de lactation pourrait aider à limiter le déséquilibre énergétique chez les vaches laitières. L'objectif de ce projet était de mesurer l'impact, sur la santé et la production, d'une traite incomplète durant les cinq premiers jours en lait (JEL ; sans changer la fréquence de traite), sur les vaches de fermes laitières commerciales. Plus spécifiquement, les éléments suivants ont été évalués : la production de lait, le taux de réforme, l'incidence de maladies infectieuses, les performances reproductrices et la sensibilité au niveau du pis. Un essai contrôlé randomisé a été réalisé chez les vaches multipares provenant d’un échantillon de convenance de 13 fermes laitières. Dans chaque troupeau, toutes les vaches multipares (n = 878), ayant mis bas entre décembre 2013 et mars 2015, ont été aléatoirement réparties entre un groupe traitement et un groupe témoin, à l'aide d'un générateur de nombres aléatoires. Les vaches du groupe traitement ont été soumises à une traite incomplète durant les cinq premiers JEL, avec une collecte maximale de 10, 10, 10, 12 et 14 litres de lait par jour aux JEL un, deux, trois, quatre et cinq, respectivement. Les vaches du groupe témoin ont été traites de manière conventionnelle. Le taux de réforme des vaches et la production de lait ne différaient pas entre les deux groupes. Lorsqu'on s'intéresse aux différences de rendement en termes de lait corrigé en énergie, les vaches traites incomplètement produisaient de façon similaire aux vaches traites complètement. La traite incomplète n'affectait pas les cotes de nouvelles infections intramammaires du 11 au 18ème JEL, ni les cotes de maladies du système reproducteur à 35 JEL, ni l'incidence de mammite clinique durant les 90 premiers JEL. Les cotes d'élimination d’une infection intramammaire du 11 au 18ème JEL chez les vaches traites incomplètement étaient 2,9 fois supérieures à celles des vaches traites complètement (intervalle de confiance à 95% : 1,4-6,0). La traite incomplète n'affectait pas non plus l'activité lutéale ; elle avait, cependant, un impact positif sur le risque de conception chez les vaches en deuxième lactation qui étaient dans des troupeaux avec une période d’attente volontaire inférieure à 55 jours (180/775 vaches). Chez ces vaches, le risque de conception (intervalle de confiance à 95%) pour les vaches traites incomplètement était 576,3 (240,0-1383,7), 36,9 (18,9-72,1), 6,8 (3,3-13,8), 2,5 (1,0-5,9), et 0,13 (0,07-0,26) fois celui des vaches traites normalement à 1-21, 22-43, 44-65, 66-87 et >87 jours respectivement après la période d'attente volontaire. L'algomètre de pression a été validé pour mesurer des changements de sensibilité dus à une distension du pis. Cet instrument était modérément répétable pour quantifier le seuil nociceptif mécanique sur le pis et de nombreux facteurs externes influençaient également les valeurs obtenues. Par conséquent, son utilisation pour cet usage devrait être considéré avec prudence. Nous avons donc plutôt observé le comportement de repos pour évaluer une douleur éventuelle ressentie au niveau du pis des vaches traites de façon incomplète. Nous n'avons observé aucun effet sur le temps de repos. Cependant, l'impact de la traite incomplète sur la fréquence et la durée moyenne des phases de repos dépendait du nombre de lactations de la vache. Cette stratégie semble légèrement problématique pour les vaches de deuxième parité, mais potentiellement bénéfique pour les vaches plus âgées.During the transition period in dairy cows, energy demands for milk production are very high, while energy intake is low, leading to a physiologically unavoidable negative energy balance. Physiological imbalance or dysfunction appears to be one of the main factors leading to increased risk for transition diseases, and together, these problems have a great impact on subsequent reproductive performances and culling. This leads to the urgent need for alternative management strategies to help dairy cattle to cope with the intensive systems in which they are raised. Although there has been great improvements in managing the source of energy for the cow, little work has been done in controlling energy expenses to improve energy balance. An incomplete milking in early lactation could help limiting negative energy balance in dairy cattle. The objective of this project was to measure, in a context of commercial dairy farms, the impact of an incomplete milking (without altering the milk frequency) during the first five days in milk (DIM), on performance and health. Specifically, the aims were to quantify its impact on: culling and milk production; on incidence of infectious diseases; on reproductive performance; and on udder sensitivity. A randomized controlled trial was conducted on multiparous cows from a convenient sample of 13 commercial dairy farms. In each herd, all multiparous cows (n = 878) calving between December 2013 and March 2015 were randomly allocated at the time of dry off to a treatment or a control group using a random number generator. Cows in the treatment group were milked incompletely during the first five DIM, with a maximum of 10, 10, 10, 12, and 14 L/d collected on DIM one, two, three, four and five, respectively. Cows in the control group were milked conventionally. Culling hazard and milk yield did not differ among treatment groups. When investigating differences in energy corrected milk yield per week throughout the lactation, incompletely milked cows produced as much as conventionally milked cows during most weeks. Incomplete milking did not affect the odds of new intramammary infection from 11 to 18 DIM, the odds of reproductive tract disease at 35 DIM, or clinical mastitis incidence in the first 90 DIM. The odds of eliminating an existing intramammary infection from 11 to 18 DIM for incompletely milked cows were 2.9 (95% confidence interval: 1.4, 6.0) times those of conventionally milked cows. The incomplete milking protocol had no effect on postpartum luteal activity and it had a positive impact on pregnancy hazard in second parity cows from herds with voluntary waiting period lower than 55 days (180/775 cows). The hazards of pregnancy (95% confidence interval) in incompletely milked cows were 576.3 (240.0, 1383.7), 36.9 (18.9, 72.1), 6.8 (3.3, 13.8), 2.5 (1.0, 5.9), and 0.13 (0.07, 0.26) times that of conventionally milked cows at 1-21, 22-43, 44-65, 66-87 and >87 d after voluntary waiting period, respectively in second parity cows from herds with voluntary waiting period lower than 55 days. The pressure algometer was validated for measuring changes in udder sensitivity due to udder distension. The instrument was shown to be only moderately repeatable for quantifying mechanical nociceptive threshold on the udder and was influenced by extraneous covariates, therefore its use should be considered cautiously or it should be further developed. Consequently, to assess potential increased udder pain due to incomplete milking, we used the resting behavior data of incompletely and conventionally milked animals. There was no effect of incomplete milking on lying time. However, the effect of incomplete milking on frequency of lying bouts and on mean lying bout duration varied by parity level, suggesting that an incomplete milking may be slightly problematic for second parity cows and, possibly, slightly beneficial for older cows

Welfare indicators identification in Portuguese dairy cows farms

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina VeterináriaThe objective of this study was to determine the possibility of identifying dairy farms with poor welfare using a national cattle database. The welfare of dairy cattle was assessed using the Welfare Quality protocol on almost 2000 adult animals from 24 Portuguese dairy farms. More than 14 million records from national cattle database were analyzed to identify potential welfare indicators for dairy farms. Within the 24 dairy farms, one was scored as ‗enhanced‘, 18 were ‗acceptable‘ and five were ‗not classified‘, according to the Welfare Quality protocol. The main welfare problems identified were: presence of lesions and swellings mainly in the lower back legs and neck/back area; approximately 40% of moderate lameness; no pain management in disbudded calves; non-grazing production systems; insufficient or dirty drinkers; severe dirtiness of the udder and hindquarter; and high percentage of cows lying outside the stall. Twelve potential welfare indicators were identified. Within these only two, proportion of on-farm deaths and female/male births ratio, were significantly different between farms with good welfare (‗enhanced‘ and ‗acceptable‘) and poor welfare (‗not classified‘). A model to detect farms with poor welfare was created with J48 classifier and it had 75.86% accuracy.RESUMO - Identificação de Indicadores de Bem-estar Animal em Explorações de Bovinos Leiteiros em Portugal - Este trabalho teve como propósito determinar a possibilidade de identificar vacarias de leite com baixos níveis de bem-estar através do Sistema Nacional de Identificação e Registo de Bovinos (SNIRB). Aplicou-se o protocolo Welfare Quality em cerca de 2000 animais adultos de 24 explorações portuguesas. Analisaram-se mais de 14 milhões de registos do SNIRB na tentativa de identificar potenciais indicadores de bem-estar nacionais. Tendo como base os princípios do Welfare Quality, uma exploração foi classificada como tendo um nível de bem-estar ―elevado‖, 18 obtiveram um nível de bem-estar ―aceitável‖ e cinco não obtiveram os requisitos mínimos de bem-estar. Os principais problemas encontrados foram: presença de lesões e tumefações principalmente nas regiões do curvilhão e dorso; percentagem média de claudicação moderada por volta dos 40%; descorna sem controlo de dor; sistemas de produção sem pastoreio; bebedouros insuficientes ou sujos; elevado nível de sujidade no quarto traseiro e úbere; elevada percentagem de vacas deitadas fora do cubículo. Identificaram-se doze potenciais indicadores de bem-estar nacionais. Apenas dois destes, ―morte na exploração‖ e ―rácio de nascimentos fêmea/macho‖, foram estatisticamente diferentes entre explorações com alto (―elevado‖ e ―aceitável‖) e baixo (sem requisitos mínimos) níveis de bem-estar. Usando o classificador J48 foi possível criar um modelo que detecta explorações com baixo nível de bem-estar e 75,86% das explorações foram correctamente classificadas

Algometer Precision for Quantifying Mechanical Nociceptive Threshold When Applied to the Udder of Lactating Dairy Cows.

Objectives of this study were to: (1) quantify the reliability of an algometer for measuring mechanical nociceptive thresholds when applied to the udder of dairy cows; and (2) evaluate whether covariates, such as cow characteristics or time of the day, would influence algometer measurements. This prospective study was performed in a university herd of 37 lactating cows during five consecutive days, involving two raters. Two types of measurement were obtained: one qualitative binary measure (i.e., reaction vs. no reaction) and one quantitative measure presented in kilograms (i.e., mechanical nociceptive threshold, MNT) for the cows that reacted. Kappa statistics were used to investigate test-retest and inter-rater reliability for the qualitative measure, while concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) and limits of agreement plot were used for the quantitative measure. Whether algometer measurements were influenced by several covariates (i.e., time of the day, level of milk production, days in milk, and parity) was then evaluated using logistic or linear regression models, depending on the outcome. The algometer was moderately reliable; there was moderate test-retest reliability (Kappa = 0.53; CCC = 0.58) and inter-rater reliability (Kappa = 0.42; CCC = 0.54). The MNT varied substantially as a function of time of the day and parity. This is the first study reporting reliability of a pressure algometer for quantifying MNT and investigating covariates possibly affecting this measurement when applied to the udder of dairy cows. It is concluded that the use of an algometer for quantifying MNT on the udder is only moderately repeatable and is influenced by extraneous covariates. Its usage in research setting to quantify changes in sensitivity at the udder level should, therefore, be considered very cautiously or it should be further developed

Algometer Precision for Quantifying Mechanical Nociceptive Threshold When Applied to the Udder of Lactating Dairy Cows

Objectives of this study were to: (1) quantify the reliability of an algometer for measuring mechanical nociceptive thresholds when applied to the udder of dairy cows; and (2) evaluate whether covariates, such as cow characteristics or time of the day, would influence algometer measurements. This prospective study was performed in a university herd of 37 lactating cows during five consecutive days, involving two raters. Two types of measurement were obtained: one qualitative binary measure (i.e., reaction vs. no reaction) and one quantitative measure presented in kilograms (i.e., mechanical nociceptive threshold, MNT) for the cows that reacted. Kappa statistics were used to investigate test-retest and inter-rater reliability for the qualitative measure, while concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) and limits of agreement plot were used for the quantitative measure. Whether algometer measurements were influenced by several covariates (i.e., time of the day, level of milk production, days in milk, and parity) was then evaluated using logistic or linear regression models, depending on the outcome. The algometer was moderately reliable; there was moderate test-retest reliability (Kappa = 0.53; CCC = 0.58) and inter-rater reliability (Kappa = 0.42; CCC = 0.54). The MNT varied substantially as a function of time of the day and parity. This is the first study reporting reliability of a pressure algometer for quantifying MNT and investigating covariates possibly affecting this measurement when applied to the udder of dairy cows. It is concluded that the use of an algometer for quantifying MNT on the udder is only moderately repeatable and is influenced by extraneous covariates. Its usage in research setting to quantify changes in sensitivity at the udder level should, therefore, be considered very cautiously or it should be further developed

Evaluation of Senegal supply chain intervention on contraceptive stockouts using routine stock data.

BACKGROUND: Until 2011, stockouts of family planning commodities were common in Senegalese public health facilities. Recognizing the importance of addressing this problem, the Government of Senegal implemented the Informed Push Model (IPM) supply system, which involves logisticians to collect facility-level stock turnover data once a month and provide contraceptive supplies accordingly. The aims of this paper were to evaluate the impact of IPM on contraceptive availability and on stockout duration. METHODS AND FINDINGS: To estimate the impact of the IPM on contraceptive availability, stock card data were obtained from health facilities selected through multistage sampling. A total number of 103 health facilities pertaining to 27 districts and nine regions across the country participated in this project. We compared the odds of contraceptive stockouts within the health facilities on the 23 months after the intervention with the 18 months before. The analysis was performed with a logistic model of the monthly time-series. The odds of stockout for any of the five contraceptive products decreased during the 23 months post-intervention compared to the 18 months pre-intervention (odds ratio, 95%CI: 0.34, 0.22-0.51). To evaluate the impact of the IPM on duration of stockouts, a mixed negative binomial zero-truncated regression analysis was performed. The IPM was not effective in reducing the duration of contraceptive stockouts (incidence rate ratio, 95%CI: 0.81, 0.24-2.7), except for the two long-acting contraceptives (intrauterine devices and implants). Our model predicted a decrease in stockout median duration from 23 pre- to 4 days post-intervention for intrauterine devices; and from 19 to 14 days for implants. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the IPM has resulted in greater efficiency in contraceptive stock management, increasing the availability of contraceptive methods in health facilities in Senegal. The IPM also resulted in decreased duration of stockouts for intrauterine devices and implants, but not for any of the short-acting contraception (pills and injectables)

Incomplete Milking in Early Lactation Does Not Affect Dairy Cows Resting Behaviors: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of incomplete milking during the first 5 days of lactation on the resting behavior of commercial dairy cows. The hypothesis was that the elevated intramammary pressure resulting from milk retained in the udder in incompletely milked cows could lead to a change in lying behavior. This study was a randomized controlled trial in which cows from two farms were randomly allocated into a treatment (n = 18) or a control group (n = 14). Cows in the treatment group were milked incompletely (10-14 L/days) during the first 5 days of lactation, while cows in the control group were milked as usually done on farm. Resting behaviors were recorded with a data logger. Linear mixed models were used to quantify the effects of treatment group on three dependent variables measured between 2 and 14 days in milk: daily duration of lying time (h/d), lying bout frequency (bouts/day), and mean duration of lying bouts (min/bout). There was no significant effect of treatment on lying time. However, the effect of treatment on frequency of lying bouts and on mean lying bout duration varied by parity level. Incompletely milked cows in second parity had a higher number of lying bouts (11.9 vs. 9.2 bouts/day) and shorter mean lying bout duration (57.8 min/bout vs. 66.7 min) than control cows. In third parity or more, the opposite happened. Therefore, our results suggest that an incomplete milking may be slightly problematic for second parity cows and, possibly, slightly beneficial for older cows. Whether the differences observed resulted from a biologic process (discomfort due to the incomplete milking) or from random error will have to be determined by future research

Evaluating the informed push model intervention in Senegal

This evaluation pertains to a supply chain intervention using performance-based contracting for contraceptive distribution that was introduced throughout Senegal between 2012 and 2015. Data on stock availability and monthly family planning consultations over a 4-year period were collected from 200 health facilities in five regions to perform time series analyses

Seroprevalence of Hantavirus in Forestry Workers, Northern France, 2019–2020

We aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) among forestry workers in northern France, and to explore sociodemographic risk factors. We conducted a random cross-sectional seroprevalence survey among 1777 forestry workers in 2019–2020. The presence of immunoglobulin G against PUUV antigens in serum was assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and confirmed using immunofluorescence assay. Poisson regression models were used to explore factors associated with seropositivity. Weighted seroprevalence was 5% (3–6) in northeastern France, 4% (2–6) in north central France, and 1% in two regions located in the center of the country (Auvergne and Limousin). There were no seropositive workers detected in northwestern France. Seropositivity was associated with age, sex, and cumulative seniority in the forestry sector. Seroprevalence was highest in known endemic areas of the northeast and lowest in the northwest. Nevertheless, we found serological evidence of PUUV infection in two regions located in the center of the country, suggesting circulation of the virus in these regions, previously thought to be non-endemic

Effect and cost-effectiveness of human-centred design-based approaches to increase adolescent uptake of modern contraceptives in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania: Population-based, quasi-experimental studies.

Around half of adolescent pregnancies in low- and middle-income countries are unintended, contributing to millions of unsafe abortions per year. Adolescents 360 (A360), a girl-centred initiative, aimed to increase voluntary uptake of modern contraceptives among adolescents in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania. We evaluated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of A360 in increasing modern contraceptive use in selected geographies. We used before-and-after cross-sectional studies of adolescent girls in four settings. Two Nigerian settings had purposefully selected comparison areas. Baseline and endline household surveys were conducted. The primary study outcome was modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR). Secondary outcomes mapped onto the A360 Theory of Change. Interpretation was aided by a process evaluation along with secular mCPR trends and self-reported A360 exposure data. Incremental design and implementation costs were calculated from implementer systems, site visits, surveys, and interviews. mCPR change was modelled into maternal disability-adjusted life years (DALY) averted to calculate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. In Oromia, Ethiopia, mCPR increased by 5% points (95% CI 1-10; n = 1,697). In Nigeria, there was no evidence of an effect of A360 on mCPR in Nasarawa (risk ratio: 0·96, 95% CI: 0·76-1·21; n = 5,414) or in Ogun (risk ratio: 1·08, 95% CI: 0·92-1·26; n = 3,230). In Mwanza, Tanzania, mCPR decreased by 9% points (-17 to -0.3; n = 1,973). Incremental cost per DALY averted were $30,855 in Oromia,$111,416 in Nasarawa, $30,114 in Ogun, and$25,579 in Mwanza. Costs per DALY averted were 14-53 times gross domestic product per capita. A360 did not lead to increased adolescent use of modern contraceptives at a population level, except in Oromia, and was not cost-effective. This novel adolescent-centred design approach showed some promise in addressing the reproductive health needs of adolescents, but must be accompanied by efforts to address the contextual drivers of low modern contraceptive use

Evaluating the adolescents 360 approach in Ogun (Nigeria), Nasarawa (Nigeria), Oromia (Ethiopia) and Mwanza (Tanzania) – Study data

Adolescents 360 (A360) was an approach in the field of adolescent sexual and reproductive health programming, with the intention of being implemented at scale in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania. We present here the data for the outcome evaluation of A360. The primary objective of the outcome evaluation was to evaluate the effectiveness of the A360 programme in increasing the uptake of voluntary modern contraception among sexually active girls aged 15–19 years