The effects of experimentally induced Escherichia coli mastitis and flunixin meglumine administration on activity measures, feed intake, and milk parameters.

The use of flunixin meglumine (FM), a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug, during experimentally induced Escherichia coli mastitis was evaluated. Twenty-four primiparous and multiparous lactating dairy cows were challenged with 1×10(2) cfu of E. coli 727 in 1 uninfected quarter. Of the 24 E. coli-challenged animals, 12 were administered FM [ECF; 100mg (2 cc)/45.5 kg of body weight) at the onset of clinical mastitis signs. The remaining 12 challenged cows were untreated (EC). An additional 11 cows were infused with 1 mL of sterile phosphate-buffered saline and served as the nonchallenged control (CTL) group. Activity measures, dry matter intake (DMI), milk production, milk bacterial counts from challenged mammary glands, and somatic cell score (SCS) were collected on all animals. Activity measurements were collected using both a behavior-monitoring system and data loggers. Activity was summarized by day (behavior-monitoring system) and in 3-h time periods (data loggers). An examination of animal activity indicated that EC and ECF cows stood more and lay less as compared with the CTL animals in the first 6h after FM administration. When DMI was analyzed, CTL and ECF animals had greater DMI than the EC animals on d 1 postchallenge. However, by d 2 postchallenge, DMI for ECF and EC cows was significantly less than for the CTL cows. The ECF cows had greater milk yield than did EC animals by d 3 and 4 postchallenge, and no significant difference in yield was observed between the ECF and CTL animals. No differences in SCS were observed between the parity groups. Yet, bacterial counts in milk were greater in multiparous animals compared with the primiparous cows. Therefore, it can be concluded that E. coli mastitis does alter animal activity and may have a negative effect on animal well-being. However, the improvement in DMI and milk production for ECF animals provides evidence for using a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug as supportive therapy in alleviating the adverse effects associated with E. coli mastitis.