Mastitis is the most economically costly disease in dairy farming and causes significant pain and suffering in affected cows, with treatment decisions having major welfare implications.
Mastitis causes significant pain that is frequently undertreated. The inflamed mammary gland becomes hot, swollen, and acutely painful - touch sensitivity is evident in affected cows who resist handling near the infected quarter. Severe coliform mastitis causes toxemia, fever, and collapse that can be fatal within hours. Even mild clinical mastitis causes pain, and subclinical mastitis represents chronic inflammation and immune activation that compromises welfare in more subtle ways. NSAIDs dramatically reduce pain and improve clinical outcomes but remain inconsistently used. Making pain management standard of care for mastitis would provide significant welfare benefit across millions of dairy cows annually.