Associations between Streptococcus uberis strains from the animal environment and clinical bovine mastitis cases

Nicole Wente, Doris Klocke, Jan-Hendrik Paduch, Yanchao Zhang, Martin tho Seeth, Veit Zoche-Golob, Friederike Reinecke, Elmar Mohr, Volker Krömker*

*Corresponding author for this work
7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Bovine clinical mastitis quarter foremilk samples were collected from 15 German dairy farms for the isolation of Streptococcus uberis strains. Samples were also collected from the 8 spots where Streptococcus uberis was most expected in the dairy environment to investigate the transmission behavior of Streptococcus uberis within the farm. The selected environmental spots for sampling were the inner surface of the milking liner, drinking troughs (on pasture and in the barn), exit area of milking parlor, bedding material from the lying area in the barn, passageway to pasture, lying area of soil or vegetation on pasture, and the barn area in front of the milking parlor. We performed pulsed-field gel electrophoresis on 237 Streptococcus uberis isolates to identify environmental strains that matched those from mastitis milk. The same strains were detected on the passageway to the pasture, milking parlor waiting area, in one of the liners, and a drinking trough. Streptococcus uberis strains showed high variability within farms and because identical strains (in mastitis milk and environment) were found in different environmental localizations, its transmission appears to be farm specific. Thus, to establish a farm-specific mastitis control strategy, the main environmental sources of Streptococcus uberis must be analyzed for matching strains. A molecular method such as pulsed-field gel electrophoresis is an important tool that can be used to obtain the necessary information.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Dairy Science
Volume102
Issue number10
Pages (from-to)9360-9369
ISSN0022-0302
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2019
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Associations between Streptococcus uberis strains from the animal environment and clinical bovine mastitis cases'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this