COMPARATIVE-STUDY ON MASTITIS IN PRIMIPAR OUS AND PLURIPAROUS COWS DURING THE PERIPARTAL PERIOD .2. COMMUNICATION - INCIDENCE OF MASTITIS IN CLINICALLY HEALTHY COWS BEFORE AND AFTER PARTURITION

From a total of 471 animals without signs of clinical mastitis which w ere hospitalized during the peripartal period at the Clinic for Bovine Obstetrics and Gynecology, Veterinary School at Hannover, 103 animals (21.9 per cent) developed clinical mastitis in a least one udder quar ter. The remaining 368 animals (78.1 per cent) did not suffer from cli nical mastitis throughout their stay in the clinic. Udder quarters of heifers which were subclinically infected at the time of hospitalizati on developed more often clinical mastitis than udder quarters of cows with subclinical mastitis. There was no interrelationship between the different kinds of obstetrical measures and manifestation of clinical mastitis. In most udder quarters affected (82.6 per cent), a chronic c atarrhal mastitis was diagnosed; as to the type of mastitis, no differ ences were found between cows and heifers. In animals which did not su ffer from clinical mastitis during their stay in the clinic, the frequ ency of puerperal disorders (retained placental membranes) was lower t han in cows which developed clinical mastitis.