Ruminal Acidosis Part I: Clinical manifestations, epidemiology, and impact of the disease

Ruminal acidosis is presented as the most considerable nutritional disorder of ruminants with severe impacts on animal health, animal welfare and considerable economics losses in small ruminant and bovine herds. The disease can be distinguished as acute (ARA) and subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA). Subacute ruminal acidosis con-stitutes the main nutritional disorder in intensive ruminant farming with several complications, such as liver abscesses, milk fat depression, reduced milk yield, and early culling. This paper constitutes the first part of a thorough review of ruminal acidosis. The first part focuses on the definition, types of ruminal acidosis, epidemiology, economic impacts and welfare implications.