Systemic inflammation in early lactation and its relation to the cows' oxidative and metabolic status, productive and reproductive performance as well as activity
Cluster analysis reveals better metabolic health in dairy cows with lower systemic inflammation, suggesting minimal performance loss from subclinical responses.
Key Points
Clinically healthy cows with lower systemic inflammation exhibited superior metabolic status after 21 days in milk, and these animals maintained higher activity levels.
Across 89 healthy animals, the non-inflammatory group achieved the highest igf-1 levels and reduced nonesterified fatty acids compared with diseased cattle.
Highlights that subclinical acute phase proteins associate with minor performance declines, but broader herd studies are needed to confirm reproductive impacts.