Prevalence, etiology, and economic impact of clinical mastitis on large dairy farms in China

This study investigated the continuous monthly prevalence of bovine clinical mastitis (CM) and the distribution of causative pathogens among 36,619 CM milk samples from large dairy farms across seven Chinese provinces from 2015 to 2017 using data from routine CM recording systems. Based on treatment period and cost per cow, withdrawal period, daily milk production, and milk value data from each farm in 2017, we calculated the economic impact of CM at the farm level with 2578-9044 lactating cows per farm. Results showed a wide variation in monthly prevalence of CM (0.6 %-18.2 %) among the seven farms over the study period, indicating regional and temporal differences in the occurrence of CM in China. Enterobacteriaceae were the predominant pathogens across all farms from six provinces except Shandong, in which the Streptococcus spp. was the most prevalent. However, the distribution of various Enterobacteriaceae species differed among farms, and Streptococcus species distribution was strongly associated (Pearson's coefficient, 68.4 %) with location. Monthly economic losses associated with CM showed clear variation, ranging from 12,000-76,000 USD/farm/month. Sensitivity analysis showed that economic loss at the farm level was most sensitive to variation in the prevalence of CM, followed by antibiotic treatment period and daily milk production per cow. To our knowledge, this is the longest running study of CM and the first estimation of its economic impacts in China. Our findings highlight the considerable costs associated with mastitis, and indicate that preventive measures and regional and timely treatment of CM are needed.