Prevalence of ketonemia and associations with herd size, lactation stage, parity, and postparturient diseases in Jordanian dairy cattle

The prevalence of bovine ketonemia among 1155 dairy cows in various stages of lactation and parity on 25 Jordanian dairy herds was studied. The cross-sectional study was conducted during the spring of 1992. Serum concentration of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) <0.9 mmol/l, between 0.9 and 1.7 mmol/l, and >1.7 mmol/l were considered to indicate normal, mild and severe ketonemia, respectively. The point prevalences of mild and severe ketonemia were 22% and 3.8%, respectively. The prevalence: of ketonemia decreased with increasing herd size. Associations between the prevalence of ketonemia and parity, stage of lactation, metritis, somatic-cell count (SCC) and serum cholesterol levels were not significant (p > 0.05). (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.