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 order to investigate the prevalence of post partum fatty infiltration of the liver and its relationship to subsequent body condition scores, blood variables and milk production. The mean concentration of triacylglycerols in the liver was 61.2 mg/g wet liver tissue. The prevalence of fatty liver (more than 50 mg triacylglycerol in 1 g wet liver tissue) was 54.1%. Serum non-esterified fatty acids, urea and blood glucose concentrations appeared to be significant indicators of hepatic lipidosis between 6 and 17 days post partum (R-2 = 0.33). High milk production and large losses of body condition score 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 liver. It was concluded that, according to the classification used, fatty liver seems to be fairly common in early lactating dairy cows. Although correlation coefficients were too low to enable a precise and accurate description 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.