Can Somatic Cell Counts Get Too Low?
The concern is whether cows with very low cell counts has a higher risk for clinical mastitis. Dr. Schukken makes several interesting points: • Research shows that the somatic cell count in cows that have never had mastitis is generally below 100,000/ml. except in the last month of lactation. • The presence of a small number of resident somatic cells plays a crucial role in the immune response to invading bacteria. If there were no somatic cells present, bacteria could invade unchallenged and cause disease unhindered. • Individual cows with extremely low cell counts (less than 100,000) may be at greater risk for clinical infections or more more severe infections.However, much of this research used cows innoculated with mastitis organisms. • For bulk milk SCC, no clear relationship has been observed between low cell counts and mastitis incidence. However, there is some evidence that herds with low bulk milk SCC have more severe systemic symptoms when mastitis does occur. • Generally mos
