Stress termico e livelli ematici delle proteine della fase acuta nella bovina

The study was carried out on 24 cows (12 Italian Brown and 12 Modicana), to assess the influence of thermal stress on acute phase proteins (PFA), haptoglobin (Hp), serum amyloid A (SAA) and fibrinogen (Fb). Blood samples were collected at 8:00 and 14:00 during two periods with different environmental temperature and relative humidity: January (13-15°C, 73-82% Rh) and July (25-30°C; 41-63% Rh). Higher values of Hp, SAA and Fb were observed at 14:00 compared to 08:00 in both breeds studied. Serum amyloid A levels were significantly higher in Brown cows vs Modicana cows and during the second period compared to the first period (July vs January). In conclusion, the obtained results showed that the levels of SAA may be influenced not only by inflammatory processes, but also environmental factors such as temperature and relative humidity. This suggests a possible use of this parameter as indicator of animal welfare in livestock production.