Hemoconcentration differs in neonatal dairy calves: Considerations for assessment of transfer of passive immunity

Assessing transfer of passive immunity (TPI) is a critical management strategy to evaluate colostrum management and feeding; however, variability in hemoconcentration or serum or plasma volume in calves might influence TPI assessment. The objectives of this study were to (1) describe the variability...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: T.A. Westhoff, R.A. Molano, M.E. Van Amburgh, S. Mann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-11-01
Series:JDS Communications
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666910224000899
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850130577931370496
author T.A. Westhoff
R.A. Molano
M.E. Van Amburgh
S. Mann
author_facet T.A. Westhoff
R.A. Molano
M.E. Van Amburgh
S. Mann
author_sort T.A. Westhoff
collection DOAJ
description Assessing transfer of passive immunity (TPI) is a critical management strategy to evaluate colostrum management and feeding; however, variability in hemoconcentration or serum or plasma volume in calves might influence TPI assessment. The objectives of this study were to (1) describe the variability in hemoconcentration as well as TPI in Holstein calves in New York State and (2) describe the effect of adjusting total protein (TP) for the degree of hemoconcentration by applying a sample average proportion of plasma in blood (PP) on TPI assessment. Records of TP and PP from 703 Holstein calves 1 to 9 d of age from 19 commercial dairy farms were analyzed. The PP was determined by centrifugation of microhematocrit tubes and serum and plasma TP was determined by digital refractometry. Transfer of passive immunity was categorized using unadjusted TP (uTP) as excellent = ≥6.2, good = 5.8–6.1, fair = 5.1–5.7, and poor <5.1 g/dL. Individual calf TP concentrations were adjusted to the sample average PP and TPI categories were reassessed using the adjusted TP value (aTP). The sample mean ± SD (range) PP was 68.8% ± 5.8% (50.5% to 86.0%). The PP was lower on d 1 compared with d 7 of age. Using uTP to categorize TPI, 22 (3.1%) calves had poor, 113 (16.2%) calves had fair, 164 (23.6%) calves had good, and 397 (57.1%) calves had excellent TPI, respectively. After adjusting TP for hemoconcentration, TPI determined using aTP resulted in 52 (7.5%, +4.4 percentage points) calves in poor, 137 (19.7%, +3.5 percentage points) calves in fair, 122 (17.5%, −6.1 percentage points) calves in good, and 385 (55.3%, −1.8 percentage points) calves in excellent. The mean (range) proportion of calves with TPI determined using uTP by farm was 3.9% (0% to 16%) for poor, 19.0% (2% to 36%) for fair, 25.3% (10% to 42%) for good, 51.8% (26% to 83%) for excellent. When categorized using aTP, the proportion of calves by farm was 8.1% (0% to 21%) in poor, 20.5% (8% to 42%) in fair, 19.1% (6% to 33%) in good, and 52.4% (27% to 83%) in excellent TPI. In conclusion, PP was variable in calves during the time of TPI assessment and this variability should be considered when assessing TPI at the calf- or herd level.
format Article
id doaj-art-6afd8a00292942fbb15f03f965f2221f
institution OA Journals
issn 2666-9102
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series JDS Communications
spelling doaj-art-6afd8a00292942fbb15f03f965f2221f2025-08-20T02:32:41ZengElsevierJDS Communications2666-91022024-11-015671371810.3168/jdsc.2024-0570Hemoconcentration differs in neonatal dairy calves: Considerations for assessment of transfer of passive immunityT.A. Westhoff0R.A. Molano1M.E. Van Amburgh2S. Mann3Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853; Corresponding authorAssessing transfer of passive immunity (TPI) is a critical management strategy to evaluate colostrum management and feeding; however, variability in hemoconcentration or serum or plasma volume in calves might influence TPI assessment. The objectives of this study were to (1) describe the variability in hemoconcentration as well as TPI in Holstein calves in New York State and (2) describe the effect of adjusting total protein (TP) for the degree of hemoconcentration by applying a sample average proportion of plasma in blood (PP) on TPI assessment. Records of TP and PP from 703 Holstein calves 1 to 9 d of age from 19 commercial dairy farms were analyzed. The PP was determined by centrifugation of microhematocrit tubes and serum and plasma TP was determined by digital refractometry. Transfer of passive immunity was categorized using unadjusted TP (uTP) as excellent = ≥6.2, good = 5.8–6.1, fair = 5.1–5.7, and poor <5.1 g/dL. Individual calf TP concentrations were adjusted to the sample average PP and TPI categories were reassessed using the adjusted TP value (aTP). The sample mean ± SD (range) PP was 68.8% ± 5.8% (50.5% to 86.0%). The PP was lower on d 1 compared with d 7 of age. Using uTP to categorize TPI, 22 (3.1%) calves had poor, 113 (16.2%) calves had fair, 164 (23.6%) calves had good, and 397 (57.1%) calves had excellent TPI, respectively. After adjusting TP for hemoconcentration, TPI determined using aTP resulted in 52 (7.5%, +4.4 percentage points) calves in poor, 137 (19.7%, +3.5 percentage points) calves in fair, 122 (17.5%, −6.1 percentage points) calves in good, and 385 (55.3%, −1.8 percentage points) calves in excellent. The mean (range) proportion of calves with TPI determined using uTP by farm was 3.9% (0% to 16%) for poor, 19.0% (2% to 36%) for fair, 25.3% (10% to 42%) for good, 51.8% (26% to 83%) for excellent. When categorized using aTP, the proportion of calves by farm was 8.1% (0% to 21%) in poor, 20.5% (8% to 42%) in fair, 19.1% (6% to 33%) in good, and 52.4% (27% to 83%) in excellent TPI. In conclusion, PP was variable in calves during the time of TPI assessment and this variability should be considered when assessing TPI at the calf- or herd level.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666910224000899
spellingShingle T.A. Westhoff
R.A. Molano
M.E. Van Amburgh
S. Mann
Hemoconcentration differs in neonatal dairy calves: Considerations for assessment of transfer of passive immunity
JDS Communications
title Hemoconcentration differs in neonatal dairy calves: Considerations for assessment of transfer of passive immunity
title_full Hemoconcentration differs in neonatal dairy calves: Considerations for assessment of transfer of passive immunity
title_fullStr Hemoconcentration differs in neonatal dairy calves: Considerations for assessment of transfer of passive immunity
title_full_unstemmed Hemoconcentration differs in neonatal dairy calves: Considerations for assessment of transfer of passive immunity
title_short Hemoconcentration differs in neonatal dairy calves: Considerations for assessment of transfer of passive immunity
title_sort hemoconcentration differs in neonatal dairy calves considerations for assessment of transfer of passive immunity
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666910224000899
work_keys_str_mv AT tawesthoff hemoconcentrationdiffersinneonataldairycalvesconsiderationsforassessmentoftransferofpassiveimmunity
AT ramolano hemoconcentrationdiffersinneonataldairycalvesconsiderationsforassessmentoftransferofpassiveimmunity
AT mevanamburgh hemoconcentrationdiffersinneonataldairycalvesconsiderationsforassessmentoftransferofpassiveimmunity
AT smann hemoconcentrationdiffersinneonataldairycalvesconsiderationsforassessmentoftransferofpassiveimmunity