Entwicklung eines Routineverfahrens zur durchflusszytometrischen Differenzierung somatischer Zellen in Rohmilch

In order to reduce the use of antibiotics in a sustained manner it is recommended to assess the individual worthiness of therapy for every clinical mastitis case. Currently, it is estimated by the data of the Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) test if a mammary cure would benefit from an antibiotic treatment or if the cow should only receive an antiphlogistic therapy. The differentiation of somatic cells in DHI milk samples is expected to improve the characterisation of the immunological ability of mammary defence. The aim of the first trial was to estimate whether the cell differentiation and the cell viability of composite milk samples represent a diagnostic tool for a predictive evaluation of mammary cure. If a cow suffers from a clinical mastitis, the assessed cell characteristics of the previous DHI test ought to assist in the estimation of mastitis prognosis. In this way, the identification of mammary glands, which will not benefit from antibiotic medication, should be improved. The composite milk samples were analysed by flow cytometry to assess the proportion of highly granulated cells such as macrophages and polymorphonuclear leukocytes and the cell viability. Following this, the relationship between these parameters and the individual cytological cure was investigated. If an animal developed a clinical mastitis after the flow cytometric analysis, it was included in a second part of the study to assess the bacteriological cure and analyse its association to the flow cytometric parameters. The investigation concludes that the proportion of non-vital cells in DHI milk samples is significantly associated with the cytological cure of the mammary gland. A high amount of non-vital cells is correlated with a lower cytological cure. In this study no relation was observed between the highly granulated cells and the mammary cure. Also, the results displayed no connection between the cell parameters and the bacteriological cure of the mammary gland. In conclusion, the proportion of non-vital cells in DHI milk samples ...