N-Acetyl-B-D-Glucosaminidase as a Predictor of Milk Loss and Recovery Following Clinical Mastitis

Clinical mastitis is becoming more important as management improvements have resulted in greater control of nonclinical pathogens (2,11). Economic losses due to clinical mastitis include decreased milk production, discarded milk, loss of animals due to culling or death, therapeutic costs, veterinary fees, and labor (1,5). Clinical mastitis cases vary greatly in lost milk production, duration of treatment, duration of clinical signs, and risk of culling from the herd. At the onset of signs, it is difficult to predict which cases will be most severe. Accurate early prognosis for mastitis has economic value. This study was conducted to assess the ability of a single milk NA Gase level (obtained at clinical onset) to predict severity of mastitis.