AVALIAÇÃO DA OZONIOTERAPIA COMO TRATAMENTO ALTERNATIVO PARA MASTITE SUBCLÍNICA BOVINA

Mastitis is one of the main diseases affecting dairy cattle worldwide, characterized by inflammation of the mammary gland. This condition causes significant economic losses, including the disposal of contaminated milk, withdrawal periods after the use of antibiotics, reduced milk quality, as well as additional costs for treatments, veterinary assistance, and early culling of affected animals. The disease can present in two forms: clinical and subclinical. Infection is often treated with antibiotics, but this approach has been questioned due to the residuals left in the milk, the risks to consumers, and the product loss during the withdrawal period. Due to these factors, alternative treatments have been studied. Among them, ozone therapy has stood out for its antimicrobial (fungicidal, virucidal, and bactericidal), anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties. The objective of this study is to evaluate ozone therapy as an alternative treatment for bovine subclinical mastitis. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee for the Use of Animals at the Universidade Iguaçu – UNIG, with protocol PEBIO/UNIG Nº 014/2023. The research was conducted at the farm school Cacaria, at the UNIG campus in Nova Iguaçu. Three female cattle were diagnosed with subclinical mastitis after performing the California Mastitis Test (CMT) and the strip cup test, and were treated with ozone therapy. A 50% improvement was observed in the animals, with worsening in three teats, while the other three showed no changes after the use of ozonized saline, direct ozone gas application to the affected teats, and "bagging." Although the treated cases initially showed a positive therapeutic response, the treatments were not conducted continuously, which compromised long-term effectiveness. It is assumed that this contributed to the difficulty in achieving full recovery of the animals. This scenario reinforces the importance of a personalized therapeutic approach, considering the severity of the infection, the individual response of each animal, and the management conditions of the farm.