Studies Concerning Bacteriological Quality of Cow Colostrum

Physiological particularities of cow’s placenta indicate colostrum as the only way of immunity passive transfer to newborn calf (Johnson et al., 2007; Swan et al., 2007). Generally, the quality of colostrum is associated with its content in immunoglobulins. Another quality indicator is the bacterial contamination level, which can become an important parameter in buiatrics (Fecteau et al., 2002). Bacterial contamination of colostrum can seriously affect the new born (producing diarrheic or septicemic syndrome and also the failure of antibodies transfer through intestinal wall into blood), the mammary gland (postpartum mastitis) and also public health (colostrum-based products for human consumption). There are data demonstrating that colostrum from primiparous cows contains high bacterial charges and they are predisposed to develop mastitis in the first days postpartum (Swan et al., 2007). It was demonstrated that 35% of new infections appear in the last 2-3 weeks antepartum and the first 2 weeks postpartum, these being high-risk periods (Fecteau et al., 2002).