Prevalence and indicators of post partum fatty infiltration of the liver in nine commercial dairy herds in The Netherlands

A field study was performed with 218 dairy cows in nine dairy herds in orde r to investigate the prevalence of post partum fatty infiltration of the li ver and its relationship to subsequent body condition scores, blood variabl es and milk production. The mean concentration of triacylglycerols in the l iver was 61.2 mg/g wet liver tissue. The prevalence of fatty liver (more th an 50 mg triacylglycerol in 1 g wet liver tissue) was 54.1%. Serum non-este rified fatty acids, urea and blood glucose concentrations appeared to be si gnificant indicators of hepatic lipidosis between 6 and 17 days post partum (R-2 = 0.33). High milk production and large losses of body condition scor e in early lactation were significant indicators of hepatic lipidosis from a retrospective point of view (R-2=0.22). Single body condition scores were not significantly related to the concentration of triacylglycerol in the l iver. It was concluded that, according to the classification used, fatty li ver seems to be fairly common in early lactating dairy cows. Although corre lation coefficients were too low to enable a precise and accurate descripti on of liver triacylglycerol content, we found some biologically explicable variables in commercial herds that were significantly related to the liver triacylglycerol content. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved .