Ketone Testing in Dairy Cows
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Ketone Testing in Dairy Cows Blood Glucose & Ketone Monitoring System for Small & Large Animals The period between calving and end of lactation is a critical time period that strongly correlates with the health and milk production of the cow. During this time, cows can slip into a ketotic state, putting them in risk of decreased milk yield, impaired reproductive performance, and higher risk of more severe clinical ketosis, all ultimately leading to economic loss.1 Ketosis, arguably the most important metabolic disease in dairy herds in the US, occurs when there is a negative energy balance during lactation.2,3 This happens because the demand on the body during lactation exceeds the energy intake of the cow. The key to preventing ketosis before it becomes a clinical problem is checking cow BHBA levels through the lactation period and providing nutritional support for the herd.3 The gold standard for ketosis testing is blood Beta-Hydroxybutyrate or more simply, blood BHBA.1,2 Subclinical levels of ketosis occur between 1.2 – 1.4 mmol/L. This is an important threshold for dairy cows to detect advancing cases of ketosis and can be used to predict health risks during early lacation.2,3,4 • Most clinical cases of ketosis occur in the 2-3 weeks after calving5 • Milk yields can decrease up to 4.6 lb. a day in the first week of lactation with subclinical ketosis5 • Cows with subclinical ketosis (1.2 – 1.4 mmol/L) were 3x more likely to be removed from the herd5 • The gold standard for testing ketones in dairy cows is blood BHBA1,2 References: 1 Iwersen, M., et al. “Evaluation of an electronic cowside test to detect subclinical ketosis in dairy cows.” Journal of Dairy Science 92.6 (2009): 2618-2624. 2 Duffield, T. F., et al. “Impact of hyperketonemia in early lactation dairy cows on health and production.” Journal of Dairy Science 92.2 (2009): 571-580. 3 Oetzel, Garrett R. “Herd-level ketosis–diagnosis and risk factors.” Proceedings of the 40th annual conference of bovine practitioners, Vancouver, Canada. 2007. 4 Ketosis in Cattle: Introduction (Acetonemia Ketonemia). (2013). The Merck Veterinary Manual. 5 Oetzel, G. R. “Understanding the impact of subclinical ketosis.” (2015). ACON Laboratories Inc., San Diego, CA, 92121 PN 216