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Mastitis Treatment

Supporting Formula

(A method of supplementing germinated

Horse Gram for faster recovery and no

untoward effect)

By: Pavan Kumar P N

Project Guide: Dr. Nagaraja

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Introduction

India is one of the developing countries with vast livestock

resources. Now India is the largest producer of milk in the world

and this accounts for 13% of the world’s production. Milk is the

largest contributor to the national GDP among agricultural

commodities. In India Milk contributes to nearly 70% of total

livestock sector output. This is as a result of conventional-

breeding programmes based on cross breeding, upgrading of local

cows and their scientific feeding. In spite of these scientific

approaches, some of the infectious diseases cause heavy

economical losses to the dairy industry. Among those diseases

Mastitis is more common in high-yielding dairy animals.

Occurrence

Mastitis is a Greek term ‘Mastos’ means breast, ‘Itis’ means

inflammation. Mastitis is caused by varieties of Bacteria, Fungi

and also as a secondary complication in some of the viral diseases.

It is characterized by physical, chemical, bacteriological changes in

the milk and pathological changes in the glandular tissue.

The disease complex is due to interplay between infectious

agents and managemental practice. Sometimes environmental

factors also play a role in causing the disease. The most important

changes noticed in the milk are:

Discoloration (May be yellowish or blood tinged)

May be watery in consistency

Presence of clots and

Presence of large number of leucocytes

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Microorganisms causing Mastitis

Many Bacteria like Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, E-coli

Corinebacterium, Mycobacterium bovis, Leptospira Species causes

Mastitis.

Fungal and yeast Mastitis is caused by Tichophyton species,

Aspergelus fumigatus and yeast like Candida species,

Cryptococus, Saccharomycis species.

Algae like Prototheca, Trispora can also cause Mastitis.

Mastitis may also occur as a result of infections causes by

viral diseases.

Ex: IBR, Cowpox, Foot and Mouth disease, etc., wherein

these diseases may predispose the cow for Mastitis.

Transmission of the disease

The organism can enter the udder through various routes

By milkers’ hands –when a person milks a cow affected with

mastitis milks a healthy cow.

Trauma or injury to teat – injury of udder may be due to

traumatic injuries by sharp objects or may be due to Foot and

mouth lesions that may break open resulting in raw surface

that may contaminate very easily. Injuries may also occur by

improper use of milking machines.

Intra mammary infusions – some times intra mammary

infusions into the teat canal may lead to fungal mastitis

Haemotogenus infections – The common example is

Tubercles mastitis where in the organisms enter the blood

stream and localizes in the udder producing mastitis.

Teat splinters: commonly in aged and high yielding cows the

teat splinters cannot close the teat canal properly which

makes organisms to enter the canal easily which may results

in infection.

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Mastitis can occur in three stages:

Invasion: Where in the organism passes from teat orifices

into the teat canal.

Infection: In this stage the organism multiply rapidly and

invade mammary gland

Inflammation: Various types of inflammations like per acute,

acute, sub acute, chronic and chronic granulomatus can

occour.

Per acute mastitis: In per acute mastitis both the systemic and

local signs are observed. Here congestion and edema occurs first

then there will be massive infiltration of neutrophils and

accumulation of lot of fibrin occurs. After some times the

neutrophils dies & releases lot of proteolytic and hydrolytic

enzymes which act up on the cells and destroy them.

The by products of cellular destruction are absorbed in to blood

circulation resulting in toxemia. Toxemia may be due to the release

of endotoxins by E-coli in coli form mastitis these endotoxins can

suppress the myocardium and endotoxins also causes damage of

liver. The enzymes of neurophills acts on milk and spoils it and

these contents may combine with fibrin and forms floccules, flakes

or clots. If proper and timely treatment is not given in early stages,

the scavenger cells will remove the cellular debris and regeneration

of cells occurs gradually.

Chronic mastitis: Usually it occurs as sequelae to acute

mastitis. Here lots of mononuclear cells infiltrate the affected part

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and then fibrous tissue replaces the damaged cells. The udder

becomes shrunken, hard, and milk production will be drastically

reduced. Usually there is no good treatment in allopathy to

overcome this type of Mastitis.

Chronic granulomatus mastitis: Here lots of mononuclear

cells infiltrate the area. The macrophages fuse together to become

epithelioid cells and giant cells are also seen. Around these

monocytes and lymphocytes are present. The lesions May be

encapsulated with fibrous tissue .The udder is hard, shrunken and

nodules can be felt on palpation.

Gangrenous Mastitis: Here due to thrombus formation the

blood supply to the necrotic part of udder is reduced resulting in

putrefaction, the affected part becomes blue or black in colour and

sloughing of the part occurs.

Clinical Findings :In per acute mastitis both the systemic signs

and the local signs are seen. Systemic signs includes sudden onset,

high fever (1050 - 107

0 F), marked depression, sudden drop in milk

production, etc. The local signs may include increase in size of the

affected quarter; warmth, painful on palpation and the udder will

be hard on palpation. The secretions may be watery or blood

tinged. In sub clinical mastitis the above symptoms may not be

visible apparently. Hence diagnosis is based on laboratory

examination.

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Diagnosis

Mastitis can be diagnosed by the physical examination of the

udder, examination of the milk and culturing of milk.

Physical examination of the udder.

1. Size- Enlarged and hard indicates acute Mastitis.

Shrunken and hard indicates chronic Mastitis.

2. Shape- On observation, shape of the udder will be

altered which may be easily recognized.

3. Consistency –Similar to size. Nodules can be felt

hard to touch and painful indicates per acute

to acute mastitis. If no pain is felt then it is

Chronic Mastitis.

Examination of the Milk.

1. Physical examination of Milk

(i) Colour – Normal milk is white in colour or

white with yellow tinge. Reddish tinge and

blood clots indicates Haemogalaxia. When

milk is allowed to stand, amber coloured

fluid at the top indicates tuberculous

Mastitis.

(ii) Odour – Putrid odour in Corynebactrium

infection.

(iii) Consistency – Secretions will be watery in

acute and Per acute Mastitis, thick and

pasty in Purulent Mastitis.

(iv) Presence of flakes or clots.

2. Chemical examination of milk.

(i) pH of the milk - Normal pH is 6.4 to 6.8

Mastitis pH is 7.4 and above.

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(ii) Bromothylol blue test.

(iii) California Mastitis test

(iv) White side test

3. Microscopic examination of Milk:

i) Staining of milk smear

ii) Counting of milk leucocytes

4.Culturing of milk: This is done to isolate the bacteria

present in the milk and also to know type of mastitis in cow. It also

helps in proper treatment and control measures.

Treatment

1.To overcome the etiological agent, administer the anti bacterial

agent both parentally and intra mammary.

2.Choose an agent, which will have good distribution in udder after

parental and intra mammary administration.

3. Antibiotics must be able to penetrate leucocytes in sufficient

concentration to be effective.

Prevention and control

1. Good hygienic measures should be fallowed.

2. Keep the animal clean.

3. Dispose the excreta properly.

4. Use hygienic measures while milking.

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Experiment

In this context to favour faster recovery, to maintain constant

milk yield and to prevent the re-occurrence of Mastitis a trial was

conducted to treat Mastitis. It was conducted with a basic idea that

when compared to other grams Horse Gram has more Vitamin E,

C, Selenium and other essential nutrients wherein Vitamin E and C

have immuno pottentiating property, Vitamin E helps in increasing

blood circulation and helps in reducing scar formation. Vitamin C

helps in increasing the potency of WBC’s. Horse Gram contains

7% Proteins, 17% Carbohydrates, 21% Calcium, Vitamin A, E &

C. Bearing in mind with these useful facts a trial was conducted to

treat Mastitis

Processing of Horse Gram

Horse Gram is germinated in order to increase its nutritive

value. Cooking helps remove the content of Folic Acid and also the

harmful substances present in it. There are several methods of

germination of Horse Gram. The simplest method is:

Soaking of Horse Gram overnight

Transferring it to a smooth cloth and leaving it for a day

The Horse Gram would have sprouted.

Thus obtained Horse Gram must be properly cooked. The

cooked horse gram should then be grinded in order to make it easy

to be consumed by the cow. This processed horse gram is rich in

Proteins, Minerals, Carbohydrates and Vitamins A, C & E.

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Supplementing Horse Gram

The trials were conducted in a village Gantiganahalli near

Bangalore wherein 20 Mastitis affected animals were considered

for the trials from nearby villages. These Mastitis affected cows

were examined by the doctors and some of the milk samples were

collected and sent to the laboratory for culture and sensitivity tests.

As a part of the supportive treatment the animal owners were

explained about importance of germinated, cooked and grinded

Horse Gram and its contents and adviced them to feed it along with

regular diet.

Trial 1: 5 of these cows were considered for the trials and its

owners were adviced to feed the cows with 250gms –

300gms of germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram for a

period of one-month in addition to line of treatment.

Trial 2: Other 5 cows were considered for the trials and its

owners were adviced to feed the cows with 300gms - 400gms

of germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram based on the

intensity and stage of the disease for a period of one-month in

addition to line of treatment.

Trial 3: Other set of 5 cows were considered for the trials and

its owners were adviced to feed the cows with 500gms of

germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram for a period of

one-month in addition to line of treatment.

Trial 4: Other 5 cows were fed with 500<gms of germinated,

cooked and grinded Horse Gram for a period of one-month in

addition to line of treatment.

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Trial 5: Another healthy cow in the same herd was being fed

with germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram daily for a

period of one month.

The germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram was

divided and fed twice daily. For Example: If the owner was

adviced to feed 500gms of germinated, cooked and grinded

Horse Gram daily, half of it i.e. 250gms was fed in the morning

and other 250gms of germinated, cooked and grinded Horse

Gram was fed in the evening with regular diet.

Feeding germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram

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Feeding germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram with

the diet.

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Hypothesis

As Germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram is rich in

Vitamin A, E and minerals such as Calcium, Phosphorous, Iron,

Selenium the trials were expected to show encourageable results in

Mastitis affected cows such as faster recovery, quick return to

normal milk yield and no reoccurrence of the disease.

Trial 1: The cows that were fed with only 250gms – 300gms

of germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram were

expected to recover early when compared to the clinical

treatment alone.

Trial 2: The cows that were fed with 300gms – 400gms of

germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram were expected

to recover much earlier when compared to the

cows in Trial 1.

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Trial 3: The cows that were fed with 500gms of germinated,

cooked and grinded Horse Gram were expected to get cured

much earlier and expected to return to normal milk yield and

with no reoccurrence of Mastitis thereafter.

Trial 4: The cows fed with more than 500 gms of germinated,

cooked and grinded Horse Gram were expected to give much

more useful results.

Trial 5: The cow, which was fed with germinated, cooked

and grinded Horse Gram daily, was expected not to suffer

from Mastitis in that period due to the presence of immuno

pottentiating property in geminated Horse Gram. Further it

was expected to increase its production in milk yield as it has

more nutritive value.

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Results

During the treatment and post-mastitis supplementation period,

regular feedback were received from those farmers through the

doctors. The farmers were enquired about the feeding habits,

success rate, adverse effect if any and also about milk yield. After

a period of one month as per the final feedback from the farmers,

the results were encouraging. The results were as follows:

Trial 1: The cows that were fed with 250gms –300gms of

germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram showed

improvement in recovery from the disease and improvement

in milk yield were noticed.

Trial 2: The cows which were fed with 300gms – 400gms of

germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram, both recovery

from the disease and improvement in milk yield was noticed

much more earlier than Trial 1. Here the animal took shorter

period for recovery and returning to normal milk yield.

Trial 3: The cows that were fed with 500gms of germinated,

cooked and grinded Horse Gram the trial responded with

excellent results. In this case, the cows took very short period

for recovery and daily improvement in milk yield is relatively

faster and attained optimum milk yield in very short period.

As per the additional feedback from the farmers, there was no

re occurrence thereafter in these cows. This is the most cost-

feasible method by which maximum utilization of

germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram could be made.

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Trial 4: The cows that were fed with more than 500gms of

germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram responded as

same as Trial 3. But this method of feeding 500+gms of

germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram is slightly

costly. That is the additional supplementation (>500gms) is

more than what is required.

Trial 5: The cow, which was fed with germinated, cooked

and grinded Horse Gram daily, didn’t show the occurrence of

mastitis in the trial period.

Some of the patient owners did not follow the exact

procedure of feeding germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram,

where in there was no change in the response. Some of the patient

owners did not feed the required quantity for specified period in

that case also the response was not up to the mark.

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Conclusion

The results obtained from the patient owners through the

concerned doctors in Mastitis affected cows is as follows:

Trial No Quantity of GCGHG

fed

No of days Results

1 250 – 300gms 30 Fair

2 300 – 400gms 30 Good

3 500gms 30 Excellent

4 More than 500gms 30 Same as above

(GCGHG - Germinated Cooked and Grinded Horse Gram)

From the above table, we can conclude that feeding 500gms

of germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram is ideal and this is

the most cost-feasible method by which maximum utilization of

germinated, cooked and grinded Horse Gram could be made and

this favours faster recovery quick return to normal milk yield and

no re occurrence of Mastitis..

In addition, as per feedback obtained from the doctors the

method of feeding germinated cooked and grinded horse gram has

required effect in addition to regular treatment. In majority of the

cases, feeding germinated horse gram has advantage in post

mastitis recovery rate, when compared to those, which were not

provided with germinated horse gram and treated alone.

Based on the obtained results we can conclude that Horse

Gram being a food ingredient used in animal feed, which has high

nutritive value with desirable characters, after germination,

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cooking and grinding this may be effectively utilized as a

supplement in early recovery from Mastitis. In addition, it has

immuno pottentiating property, as it is rich in Vitamins and

Minerals. As it is rich in Vitamin A and E wherein Vitamin E helps

in reducing scar tissue formation and favours blood circulation to

the affected part. These properties hastens faster recovery, least

damage to the secretory tissue which intern favours quick return to

normal milk yield.

Hence this method may be adopted as “Mastitis Treatment

Supporting Formula” in the future treatment of Mastitis.

Future scope of work Horse Gram is rich in Proteins, Vitamins and Minerals. On

Germination the nutritive value is enhanced. This may be tried in

the diet of young calves those which were not fed with adequate

milk due to some reasons. As it is rich in Vitamin A, E it enhances

immunity in the body of the calves by which the young calves may

be protected from infectious diseases.

As germinated Horse Gram contains Vitamin E and Selenium

this may be effectively used in the growing heifers, which will

attain puberty very quickly.

As it has immuno pottentiating properties, Germinated,

cooked and grinded Horse Gram may be tried to prevent from

infectious diseases.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to:

The Principal & Staff,

Sri Vani High School,

Rajajinagar.

The Veterinary Doctors & Staff

engaged in the treatment.

Farmers for their valuable cooperation.

My Parents & Relatives.

Srushti Media Services

Bangalore

Intel STDF for providing an opportunity to present

my project.

And for those who have involved in the success of

the project.

“Thank You”