Trace mineral, immune system and mastitis

Mastitis is defined as an inflammation of the mammary gland. It is one of the main diseases in dairy, due to its high prevalence and related economical losses. Different type of bacteria cause mastitis and, depending on the bacteria, the environment and the immune status of the cow, we can observe clinical or subclinical mastitis. The immune status of the cow has a big importance in the response. It is essential to better understand the role of the different trace minerals as they help to improve the immune status of the cows,  reducing the need for antibiotic treatments as well as the economic impact of the mastitis Zinc, Iron and Copper are part of different proteins like metallothionein, desferoxamine, ferritin and lactoferrin. The plasmatic level of these minerals is reduced when cows are infected by E.coli (Erskine et Bartlett, 1993). Scalletti et al observed that cows supplemented with copper have milder symptoms of mastitis when cows were infected intramamary by E.coli. More available source of minerals such as BIOMET or GLYMET (organic trace minerals with higher bioavailability) could improve the immune response and the resistance to bacteria responsible for mastitis, reducing the economic losses