High haptoglobin levels show variety of infections

High haptoglobin levels in the blood of cattle indicate infection such as mastitis, metritis, pyometra, traumatic reticulitis, abomasal displacement, traumatic pericarditis, bacterial nephritis, or hepatic lipidosis.

New, quick, and inexpensive tests for haptoglobin are now available to tip off farmers and vets, revealing if a seemingly healthy cow has an internal infection, or that cattle on antibiotic treatments are on the mend.

One such test is a silver medal winner at EuroTier 2012, taking place in Hanover, Germany from Nov 13-16, one of the top events for livestock farmers.

This year, there was a record entry of more than 300 in the innovations section for which the show is well-known.

Euro Tier 2012 innovation gold awards will be awarded to five innovations, and 19 get silver awards.

German company Frim Tec GmbH gets a silver medal for its automatic haptoglobin test on cow’s milk, for fast diagnosis of inflammations.

This quick test supplies the farmer with valuable additional information on the health of his freshly calved cows.