Speaking at launch event on Thursday, Elanco vet John Cook said that the 60 days before and 30 days after calving see dairy cows experiencing a dip in natural immunity, which leaves them susceptible to disease such as mastitis, metritis and retained placenta.

“We are still ‘firefighting’ common transition diseases like mastitis rather than focusing on their true cause,” he said.

Cook said that the new product developed by Elanco aims to strengthen cows’ immunity to “defend against a range of mastitis-causing pathogens”.

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The product, called Imrestor, restores the primary white blood cell that kills harmful bacteria, known as neutrophils, by preventing a dip in levels during calving.

It is administered by two subcutaneous injections, the first seven days before expected calving and then the second 24 hours after calving.

According to Elanco, research has shown that the product can reduce incidence of clinical mastitis around calving by 31.9%.

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