OxyFile #607

Ozone Treatment in Mastitis, Metritis and Retention of Fetal Membranes in the Dairy Cow

Scrollavezza P¹, Ablondi M², Pogliacomi B², Guareschi D², Dall'Aglio R³, Poldi R¹, Pezzoli G¹.

1 - Study University of Parma, Italy
2 - DVM, Parma, Italy
3 - DM, Parma, Italy

Presented in Havana, Cuba, 1997.

Mastitis, metritis and retention of fetal membranes are diseases that may affect any species, but are of greatest economic importance in the dairy cow.

• decreased milk and reproductive production
• discarded milk and decreased production
• veterinary and labor costs
• culling and death costs
• lost milk and reproductive quality
• $ 2.5 bilion/year

• Technical factors that predispose to establishment of infection within the gland are poor milking hygiene, milking machine faults, faulty milking management and teat injuries
• Although it may be caused by chemical or physical agents, the causes are almost entirely infectious, and mostly bacterial
• Pathogens of the bovine udder are categorized as
  • Major
    • contagious (Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphilococcus aureus, Mycoplasma)
    • environmental (Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Coliforms)
  • Minor
    • (Corynebacterium bovis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium spp, Nocardia asteroides, Aspergillus spp, Serratia rufuscens, Prototheca spp)
  • On a herd basis, the only significant causes of mastitis is bacteria.
  • Bacterial mastitis becomes clinical when milk has a cell count greater than 500.000 cells/ml and an etiologic agent can be isolated.
  • Mastitis is considered subclinical when milk has an elevated cell count, with or without isolation of a bacteriological agent.

• The peracute cow needs to be treated with systemic and intramammary antibiotics, oral or intravenous fluids and anti-inflammatory drugs
• An acutely affected cow should be treated with systemic and intramammary antibiotics for a minimum of 3 days
• The subacute case requires only intramammary antibiotic therapy for 3 days after each milking
• Most mastitis (approximately the 90%) in a herd is subclinical and the only treatment is the prevention.

• The selection of antibiotics should be based on the sensivities of identified pathogens; the laboratory identification need at least 3 days.
• The milk of the treated cow can't used for industrial or nutritional purpose in the administration time (3 days or more) plus the antibiotic withdrawal time (3 days or more).

• Acute metritis almost always occurs following abnormal parturition. Contaminants enter the uterus during parturition and establish infection. Delayed uterine involution is the major predisposing factor and is often accompained by retention of fetal membranes.
• Affected cows can be anorectic, depressed, fevered, toxic and can become dehydrated and/or go in shock. There is often a foul-smelling suppurative to reddish- brown vulvar discharge.

• Pathologic uterine infections that persist into the intermediate postpartum period are referred as endometritis. Endometritis can also results from pyometra or by introduction of pathogens during insemination.

• The most important aerobic organism involved in pathologic postpartum uterine infections (metritis) is Actinomyces pyogenes, often in conjunction with gram- anaerobes (Fusobacterium necrophorum, Bacterioides spp).
• Infections with Pasteurella spp, Bacillus spp, Pseudomonas spp, streptococci and stafilococci cause acute metritis, but are the predominant factor in the onset of chronic metritis and endometritis.

• Cows with severe metritis require appropriate supportive therapy
• To ensure adequate concentrations of antibiotic in all part of the reproductive tract, both local and systemic therapy may be required for a minimun of 3 days.
• Infusing warm water or saline into the postpartum uterus is suggested as a means to remove infected materials

• Local insufflation consists in the immission of gas (50-100 ml) at different concentration directly in the affected quarter
• Concentration is established on:
  • the mastitis onset
  • the presence and the type of the inflammatory reaction
  • cell count (CMT or electronic count)
• Uterine ozonized water infusion (flushing) changing in volume and concentration with
• the uterine conditions (presence of fetal membranes, inflammation, discharge, blood)
  • estrous cycle activity
  • Uterine ozonized ovuli immission

• We performed ozonized autoemotherapy with 2-5 ml/kg of blood using the borbotage technique.
• Concentration was established on:
  • the mastitis type
  • the general condition of the cow (fever, anorexia, weakness, marked depression)

1. Direct on the Pathogen
   • is quite elucidated
2. Indirect on the Immunosystem
   • If we have some doubts in the human being, more difficulties are in the Bovine Immunity System, where there are others endogenous inhibitor.

OZONE VS ANTIBIOTIC

OZONE EFFICACY: ozone can sterilize all the pathogenic organisms (bacteria, virus, mycetes, yeast) and work against their toxines antibacterial effects are the same or enhanced when mixed with milk local insufflation can reach the milk compartments of the gland ozone work always and faster; sometimes only 1 treatment can cure the inflammated udder or uterus no associated pathogen resistance is known	ANTIBIOTIC EFFICACY: antibiotic can sterilize (not always) only one kind of bacteria or fungi it doesn't work against viruses and yeast it doesn't work with pathogenic organism toxines antibacterial effects tend to decrease when mixed with milk local antibiotics can't reach the occluded milk ducts; so this treatment must to be associated with the parenteral antibiotic treatment antibiotic treatment takes at least 3 days the pathogens grown in vitro aren't often the mastitis agent the right antibiotic is often inefficient in vivo because of antibiotic resistance
OZONE INTERACTION ozone doesn't have any adverse interaction with other drugs or with the gastrointestinal flora; ozone enhances the efficacy of other drugs	ANTIBIOTIC INTERACTION most antibiotics interact with other drugs and with the gastrointestinal flora unpredictably
OZONE ADVERSE REACTION no allergic reaction shown at therapeutic concentrations hipoglycemia can occur sometimes, after ozonized autoemotherpy	ANTIBIOTIC ADVERSE REACTION all antibiotics show a degree of adverse reaction, even at therapeutic concentrations antibiotic can often cause topic or general allergic reaction
OZONE AND MILK UTILIZE milk of the affected mastitis and metritis cow trated with ozone can be utilized immediately for industrial or nutritional purpose	ANTIBIOTIC AND MILK UTILIZE milk of the affected cow treated with antibiotic can't be utilized for industrial or nutritional purpose, at least for 5 days
OZONE AND MEAT UTILIZE after ozone treatment, meat can be utilized immediately for industrial or nutritional purpose	ANTIBIOTIC AND MEAT UTILIZE after ozone treatment, meat can be utilized for industrial or nutritional purpose only after withdrawal time (3 to 30 days or more)
OZONE AND IMMUNOSYSTEM ozone can be utilized as immunostimulant or immunosoppressor only changing the route and the rate of the concentrations	ANTIBIOTIC AND IMMUNOSYSTEM antibiotic often acts some time as immunostimulant and often as immunosoppressor, but these actions aren't predictable and wished for
OZONE AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTION depending on the concentrations, ozone has an inflammatory/anti-inflammatory action and can be used to modulate flogosis	ANTIBIOTIC AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTION antibiotic doesn't act on the inflammation process; when it acts, its action is impredictable
OTHER EFFECT OF OZONE ozone autoemotherapy enanched the metabolic rate via a lot of ways ozone autoemotherapy can cure toxiemia ozone treatment can increase the milk production like the bovine somatotropine administration (from 5 to 30%) after ozone treatment the relapse mastitis time is delayed	OTHER EFFECT OF ANTIBIOTIC antibiotic doesn't have metabolic neither detoxicant properties and often cause liver, renal and gastrointestinal damages antibiotic don't increase the milk production after antibiotic treatment is easy to have relapse of the mastitis, because the antibiotic destroyes the micro-ambiental flora

• the costs of ozone treatment are
  • the machine ozone generator
  • the oxygen cylinder
  • the anticoagulant drug
• is not always necessary the laboratory analysis needed to find the mastitis pathogen
• period treatment wiyh ozone is short

• discarded milk
• veterinary and labor costs
• therapy costs
• culling and death costs
• lost milk quality
• decreased milk production

• discarded milk - NO
• veterinary and labor costs - LOWER
• therapy costs - LOWER
• culling and death costs - LOWER
• lost milk quality - NO
• increased milk production

• veterinary and labor costs
• therapy costs
• death costs
• decreased reproduction ratio

• veterinary and labor costs - LOWER
• therapy costs LOWER
• death costs - LOWER
• increased reproduction ratio

• in the pathogen peracute, acute and subacute mastitis, milk samples collection become sterile after 1 or 2 ozone treatments:
  1. treatment if local ozone administration is associated with ozone autoemotherapy
  2. treatments using local ozone insufflation
• in the subclinical mastitis, ozone can decrease the cell count and increase the milk production

• ozone can sterilize acute, peracute (endo)metritis and pyometra after 1 or 2 ozone treatments
  1. treatment if local ozone administration is associated with ozone autoemotherapy
  2. treatments using local ozone uterine flushing or ozonized ovuli
• ozone improve fertility in the subclinical endometritis
  • the constant use of ozonized oil ovuli before breeding seems to increase pregnancy ratio

NUMBER OF INSEMINATION/PREGNANCY IN A GROUP OF 20 COWS TREATED WITH OZONIZED OVULI BEFORE ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION VS 20 COWS NOT TREATED (6 MONTHS PERIOD)

• effective
• safe
• easy
• fast
• cheap
• of great economic value in the dairy cow herd

• Researcher Difficulty
  • Low Funds
• Veterinary Difficulty
  • Is not easy to establish the right ozone concentration
  • ozone is a potent drug
  • Economic Loss

• Owner Difficulty
  • Change the way to deal with these diseases
  • You use "air" and "water"
• Pharmaceutical Company Problem
  • The reduce the sales up to 50%

• For the Researcher, the Vet and the Owner
  • The Researchers have to continue the use of ozone treatments and show them the experimental results
• For the Pharmaceutical Company
  • Use Antibiotic in association with Ozone
  • Ozone enhance the efficacy of antibiotic