Cases Of Mastitis Research Articles

A Rare Case of Concurrent Lupus Mastitis and Sarcoidosis in a 62-Year-Old Female.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and sarcoidosis are two of the most well-recognized, chronically diagnosed conditions in the United States, with a plethora of known multisystem manifestations. With regard to breast pathology, lupus mastitis is a relatively uncommon manifestation of SLE, commonly involving both the mammary gland and subcutaneous soft tissues of the breast. Sarcoidosis in the breast is a similarly, exceedingly rare manifestation of this multi-system disorder, classically presenting with non-caseating granulomas. Both present with non-specific mammographic and sonographic features. We present a 62-year-old female with known diagnosis of discoid lupus and Graves' disease who presented initially with an abnormal screening mammogram, ultimately undergoing mammographic work-up and subsequent biopsy demonstrating lupus mastitis, including vasculitis, panniculitis, and fibrosis with chronic inflammation. The patient was also found to have small non-caseating granulomas, some in a perivascular distribution, classically seen in sarcoidosis. Given the rarity of both manifestations, our case explores the coexistence of these autoimmune processes and this atypical presentation.

Understanding the dynamics of mastitis in milk yield: decoding onset and recovery patterns in response to mastitis occurrence

No recent study attempted to model daily milk losses before and after mastitis onset and the moment when it begins. Thus, we aimed to describe the impact of mastitis on milk production based on mastitis level and moment of occurrence. We used data from 11 dairy farms, and the data set consisted of 885,759 daily individual milk test records from 3,508 cows in different lactations, with an average milk yield from January 2017 to December 2022. We modeled the impact of mastitis severity [i.e., 1 (mild) and 2 (severe)] based on the drop and recovery of milk yield following 3 steps. First, we removed milk recorded on the day of diagnosis of mastitis from the data set and fitted a Wood's Curve for each cow and parity. Second, we returned the mastitis data to the data set and estimated the residual milk loss due to mastitis from 15 d before to 30 d after the mastitis event. Third, we used generalized additive mixed effect models to estimate the residual milk loss, including farm as a random effect. In addition to the random effect of the farm, we also included the predicted value of mastitis, the day effect before and after mastitis incidence, and the interaction between the predicted value of mastitis and days. On average, mastitis level 2 resulted in a more severe milk yield drop in all represented stages of lactation (80, 170, and 260 d in milk), suggesting a higher loss close to the lactation peak, approximately 130 kg more than mastitis level 1. Moreover, the occurrence of mastitis case level 1 during early phase of lactation (DIM 80) can cause an average milk loss of 158 L and a ML 2, an average loss of 288 L. The estimations suggest that milk drop occurs 14 to 4 d before mastitis onset and can last until 15 to 25 d from the diagnosis, which would be the necessary time for a cow to reestablish their predicted milk yield. Therefore, our study brings new perspectives to investigate milk yield drop and recovery due to mastitis infections and how much mastitis can deplete and impair milk production.

Delineating Mastitis Cases in Dairy Cows: Development of an IoT-Enabled Intelligent Decision Support System for Dairy Farms

Delineating Mastitis Cases in Dairy Cows: Development of an IoT-Enabled Intelligent Decision Support System for Dairy Farms

Mastite xantogranulomatosa em fêmea canina

Xanthogranulomatous mastitis (MXG) is a rare chronic inflammatory condition of the breast. In women, it raises concern and requires a biopsy due to the clinical-radiological similarity with breast neoplasia. The definitive diagnosis is given through histopathological examination. In canine females, chronic benign non-neoplastic lesions in the mammary glands are not frequently described, such as MXG. The objective of this work is to describe the clinicopathological findings of a case of xanthogranulomatous mastitis in a female canine. The case occurred in a female Pinscher breed, 8 years old, not castrated, who presented irregular heat, in addition to a history of galactorrhea and treatment with antigalactogenic drugs. The physical examination revealed the presence of a nodule in the left mammary chain, affecting the caudal thoracic mammary gland (M2E). Due to the fear that it was a malignant neoplasm, the treatment was a radical mastectomy of the left mammary chain, followed by an anatomopathological examination of all glands. Histologically, the M2E nodule was made up of cracks and cholesterol crystals associated with the presence of numerous lipid-laden macrophages and multinucleated giant cells, characterizing it as xanthogranulomatous mastitis.

Trueperella Pyogenes-Strain Diversity and Occurrence in Dairy Herds.

Trueperella (T.) pyogenes is a mastitis-causing pathogen formerly known to cause severe clinical mastitis (CM), especially during the summer, leading to milk losses and low recovery rates. Unfortunately, its transmission behavior within herds is unclear. The diversity and occurrence of T. pyogenes were monitored to gain an initial insight into the infection transmission behavior of T. pyogenes in dairy herds and to lay a foundation for following targeted investigations. CM milk samples were collected from German herds, and one Swedish farm was sampled for isolates from subclinical mastitis. All in all, 151 T. pyogenes isolates from 16 herds were isolated, identified by MALDI TOF analysis and typed with RAPD PCR. Of these, 17 isolates originated from subclinical mastitis cases. We found that T. pyogenes mastitis occurred year-round, and clinical mastitis cases were caused by multiple strains (31 affected animals/28 strains). Instances of multiple cows being infected with the same T. pyogenes strain were rare and typically only involved a small number of animals at a time. However, if several quarters of a cow were affected, it was likely the same strain. Unlike clinical infections, subclinical T. pyogenes infections, in one investigated farm, harbored a dominant strain. Additionally, we found that T. pyogenes infections tended to persist and stay within a herd for a minimum of 7 months in the same or different cows.

Studi Kasus: Terapi Mastitis Klinis pada Sapi Perah di Kota Batu

The purpose of this case report is to report a case of clinical mastitis in dairy cattle in Batu. One case was reported on this period. Anamnesis was carried out, the owner revealed that the cow did not produce milk and when milking the udderand nipples felt hard and the milk that wanted to come out seemed to be stuck. Physical examination was carried out, cow’s weight ±400 kg, body temperature 38.4 °C, the udder and nipple were swollen and inflamed, and decrease of milk production, mammae showed reddish and asymmetrical and painful when palpate. Based on the history and physical examination of the cow, it can be concluded that the cow was diagnosed with clinical mastitis with a fausta prognosis and the differential diagnosis was mammary tumour. The therapy given in this case was injection of the antibioticInterspectin-L® 10 ml, the anti-inflammatory and antipyretic Tolfedine® 10 ml intramuscularly.

Nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in healthy dairy cows in Algeria: antibiotic resistance, enterotoxin genes and biofilm formation

BackgroundStaphylococcus aureus can colonize and infect a variety of animal species. In dairy herds, it is one of the leading causes of mastitis cases. The objective of this study was to characterize the S. aureus isolates recovered from nasal swabs of 249 healthy cows and 21 breeders of 21 dairy farms located in two provinces of Algeria (Tizi Ouzou and Bouira).MethodsThe detection of enterotoxin genes was investigated by multiplex PCRs. Resistance of recovered isolates to 8 antimicrobial agents was determined by disc-diffusion method. The slime production and biofilm formation of S. aureus isolates were assessed using congo-red agar (CRA) and microtiter-plate assay. Molecular characterization of selected isolates was carried out by spa-typing and Multi-Locus-Sequence-Typing (MLST).ResultsS. aureus was detected in 30/249 (12%) and 6/13 (28.6%) of nasal swabs in cows and breeders, respectively, and a total of 72 isolates were recovered from positive samples (59 isolates from cows and 13 from breeders). Twenty-six of these isolates (36.1%) harbored genes encoding for staphylococcal enterotoxins, including 17/59 (28.8%) isolates from cows and 9/13 (69.2%) from breeders. Moreover, 49.1% and 92.3% of isolates from cows and breeders, respectively, showed penicillin resistance. All isolates were considered as methicillin-susceptible (MSSA). Forty-five (76.3%) of the isolates from cows were slime producers and 52 (88.1%) of them had the ability to form biofilm in microtiter plates. Evidence of a possible zoonotic transmission was observed in two farms, since S. aureus isolates recovered in these farms from cows and breeders belonged to the same clonal lineage (CC15-ST15-t084 or CC30-ST34-t2228).ConclusionsAlthough healthy cows in this study did not harbor methicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates, the nares of healthy cows could be a reservoir of enterotoxigenic and biofilm producing isolates which could have implications in human and animal health.

Prevalence and Molecular Characteristics of Enterococci Isolated from Clinical Bovine Mastitis Cases in Ningxia [Letter]

Prevalence and Molecular Characteristics of Enterococci Isolated from Clinical Bovine Mastitis Cases in Ningxia [Letter]

Screening of essential oils against oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from bovine mastitis

Bovine mastitis is a disease with far-reaching consequences for the dairy industry. Staphylococcus aureus is a pathogen that is especially resistant to antibiotics. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the essential oils Lippia citriodora (Lam.), Thymus vulgaris (L), and a mixture of the essential oils Lippia citriodora and Thymus vulgaris (50/50 v/v), against isolates of oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (n=15) of positive cases of bovine mastitis. For the statistical analysis, the IBM SPSS statistical package was used. The mixture of essential oils (Lippia citriodora and Thymus vulgaris (50/50 v/v)) obtained the most significant antimicrobial activity in relation to pure essential oils. It is therefore concluded that the mixture of these oils boosts their antimicrobial activity (p<0.05). The minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentration of this mixture for the total isolations was 12 μL/L and 25 μL/mL, respectively.

Antimicrobial Susceptibility in Clinical Mastitis Cases on Simmental Farms in the Mačva Region (Serbia)

Antimicrobial Susceptibility in Clinical Mastitis Cases on Simmental Farms in the Mačva Region (Serbia)

The effect of selective dry cow therapies based on 2 different algorithms on antimicrobial use, udder health, milk production, and culling in the absence of internal teat sealant use at dry-off

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of selective dry cow therapy (SDCT) strategies based on 2 different algorithms as compared with blanket dry-cow therapy for measures of udder health, milk yield, and culling in herds not using internal teat sealant. Cows from 2 commercial farms in West Texas were randomized into 3 different groups: SDCT Algorithm 1 (ALG1; n = 455) cows treated with an intramammary antimicrobial at dry-off if somatic cell count (SCC) > 200,000 cells/mL at any Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA) test date or if the cow had 2 or more cases of clinical mastitis during the enrollment lactation; SDCT Algorithm 2 (ALG2; n = 458) cows treated with an intramammary antimicrobial at dry-off if SCC >200,000 cell/mL at last test date or any case of clinical mastitis during the enrollment lactation; Control cows (CON = 447) received blanket dry cow therapy. All cows enrolled in the study did not receive an internal or external teat sealant. Data related to milk and somatic cell count linear score (LSCC) was collected monthly. Milk yield and LSCC during the first 6 mo of lactation were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA models, while Cox's Proportional Hazards models were fitted to culling and clinical mastitis data. The farm was fitted as a random effect in all models. The percentage of cows receiving antimicrobials at dry cow was 51.3, 24.7, and 100% for ALG1, ALG2, and CON, respectively. Treatment did not influence the IMI dynamics during the dry period. Additionally, no statistical differences related to treatment were observed for LSCC and milk yield. The LSCC for ALG1, ALG2, and CON was 2.44, 2.41, and 2.26, respectively. The average milk yield for ALG1, ALG2, and CON cows was 43.2, 43.2, and 44.0 kg/d, respectively. Treatment did not affect clinical mastitis incidence and culling. The cumulative incidence of clinical mastitis was 19.6%, 19.4%, and 21.4% for ALG1, ALG2, and CON cows respectively. Additionally, the cumulative risk of death or culling was 18.5%, 17.1%, and 19.5% for ALG1, ALG2, and CON cows respectively. In conclusion, SDCT strategies led to a decrease in antimicrobial drug use at dry-off, without significantly impacting the incidence of clinical mastitis, the risk of culling, LSCC and milk yield of dairy cows. However, numerical differences in LSCC and milk yield were observed between treatment groups.

Using infrared thermography to detect teat tissue changes after machine milking in dairy cows

Mastitis is among the costliest diseases affecting dairy cows, partly due to its permanent reduction of the quantity and qual­ity of milk produced. Most mastitis cases involve pathogenic organisms entering the cow’s mammary gland through the teat canal. The teat canal has natural defenses against these patho­gens that can be disrupted during milk harvesting. Some of these disruptions of the teat tissue morphology, also known as short-term changes (STCs), can be diagnosed through visual in­spection and palpation. Infrared thermography (IRT) has previ­ously been shown to produce precise and consistent measure­ments of skin temperatures on cows’ hind teats. Our primary objective was to determine if IRT could distinguish between presence and absence of STCs to eventually create an automat­ed monitoring system. Our secondary objective was to describe the variability in the teat skin surface temperatures (SSTs) be­fore and after machine milking.

An observational study of farmer-reported clinical mastitis in New Zealand dairy ewes

ABSTRACT Aims To describe the incidence, aetiology, treatment, and outcomes of farmer-reported clinical mastitis on New Zealand dairy sheep farms. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted on 20 spring-lambing New Zealand sheep milking farms over the 2022–2023 season. Clinical mastitis was defined as a change in the appearance of milk and/or signs of inflammation in the gland. Farmers were required to report all cases of clinical mastitis and collect information on affected ewes’ demographics, clinical features, treatments (where applicable), and outcomes. Milk samples from mastitic glands were submitted for microbiological culture and identification by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF). Results Partial or complete clinical mastitis data were available for 236 cases from 221 ewes on 18/20 study farms. Clinical mastitis was diagnosed in 0–6% of ewes at the farm level, with an overall incidence of 1.8 (95% CI = 1.0–3.2)% using the study data, or 2.3 (95% CI = 1.6–3.3)% using the study data and farmer estimates that included unreported cases. Cases occurred mostly in early lactation, with 59% detected during the lambing period (August–October), at a median of 7 (IQR 3, 40) days in milk. The majority of cases featured clots in the milk (59%), swelling (55%), and unevenness (71%) of the glands. Pyrexia (rectal temperature ≥ 40.0°C) was diagnosed in 25% of cases and depression (lethargy, inappetence, or inability to stand) in 26% of cases. Treatment was given to 46% of cases, with tylosin being the most commonly used treatment (50% of treated cases). The most common outcome was immediate drying off to be culled without treatment (32%), followed by still milking and recovered but with lasting problems (25%). Nearly half of all the milk samples submitted were culture negative. Streptococcus uberis (14%), non-aureus staphylococci (12%), and Staphylococcus aureus (11%) were the most common isolates, found on 12, 8 and 8 of the 16 farms with microbiological data, respectively. Conclusions Clinical mastitis affected up to 6% of ewes at the farm level. Systemic signs were observed in one quarter of affected ewes, suggesting a role for supportive treatment. Clinical mastitis can be severe and challenging to fully resolve in New Zealand dairy sheep. Clinical relevance This is the first systematic study of clinical mastitis in New Zealand dairy ewes. It provides baseline information specific to New Zealand conditions for farmers, veterinarians, and other advisors to guide the management of mastitis for the relatively new dairy sheep industry in New Zealand.

Confirmed bacteriological diagnosis and cure of non-severe Gram-positive clinical mastitis cases enrolled in a randomized clinical trial based on results of on-farm culture

Our objectives were to describe the confirmed bacteriological diagnosis of mastitis pathogens cultured from cases of non-severe clinical mastitis (CM) identified as Gram-positive (GP) using on-farm culture and to compare differences in bacteriological cure (BC) based on antimicrobial (AM) therapy. Cows that developed non-severe CM in a single quarter were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial based on microbial growth on GP selective agars. Cows were randomly assigned to receive a once-daily intramammary treatment: 3d hetacillin (n = 69), 3d ceftiofur (n = 69), 8d ceftiofur (n = 70) or to a non-treated group (n = 32). Etiologies were confirmed with MALDI-TOF using frozen duplicate milk samples. The crude proportion of BC was determined using milk samples collected at 14, 21 and 28 d after enrollment for cases caused by Streptococci, non-aureus staphylococci (NAS), Strep-like organisms (consisting of Enterococcus and Lactococcus.; SLO) and Staph. aureus. Multivariable models were used to determine the effect of AM treatment on BC cure at d 21 for a subset of cases that had complete data for all covariates (n = 88). Growth on GP agar resulted in enrollment of 240 cases with confirmed etiologies distributed as Strep. spp (21.7%; n = 52), Lact. spp (19.2%; n = 46), NAS (16.3%; n = 39), Staph aureus (6.3%; n = 16), Entero spp (5.0%; n = 12) and others (10%; n = 24). Thirty-five (14.5%) duplicate milk samples collected from enrolled cows had no significant growth in the lab while 16 (6.7%) were contaminated. Among sampling dates, combined crude BC for cases caused by target pathogens ranged from 68 to 71%. Crude BC ranged from 58 to 73% for the small group of non-treated cases (n = 12) and 69–71% for the combined group of cases that received IMM AM (n = 113). Among all groups and all follow-up dates, crude BC was least for cases caused by Staph. aureus (ranging from 33 to 43%), followed by cases caused by SLO (58–67%), NAS (79–80%) and Strep. spp. (81–91%). The proportion of BC at 21d (LSM ± SE) did not vary between all cases that received AM (0.77 ± 0.06) and cases in the non-treated group (0.73 ± 0.16). The odds of BC at 21d was about 5x greater for cases that occurred in primiparous as compared with multiparous cows and decreased 1.3-fold for each 1 log unit increase in SCC before the case. While this study does not have sufficient power to detect small differences in BC among pathogen groups or treatments, our results demonstrate that CM is caused by a wide diversity of GP bacteria with varying ranges of BC. These results provide justification for inclusion of negative control groups in future studies and confirm that important characteristics such as parity and history of subclinical mastitis influence the probability of BC.

Molecular Characterization of Resistance and Virulence Factors of Trueperella pyogenes Isolated from Clinical Bovine Mastitis Cases in China.

The present study was designed to investigate the resistance determinants and virulence factors of 45 Trueperella pyogenes isolates from clinical bovine mastitis in Hexi Corridor of Gansu, China. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) was tested by E-test method. Gene of antimicrobial resistance, virulence integrase and integron gene cassettes were determined by PCR and DNA sequencing. The T. pyogenes isolates exhibited high resistance to streptomycin (88.9%) and tetracycline (64.4%), followed by erythromycin (15.6%) and gentamicin (13.3%). Resistance to streptomycin was most commonly encoded by aadA9 (88.9%); and to tetracycline, by tetW (64.4%). Importantly, all streptomycin-resistant isolates carried aadA9 alone or in combination with aadA1, aadA11 and strA-strB. Similarly, all tetracycline-resistant isolates harbored tetW alone or in combination with tetA33. Meanwhile, ermX was detected in 13.3% isolates, only one erythromycin-resistant isolate was not identified for this gene. Moreover, all T. pyogenes isolates carried class 1 integrons, and 17.8% of them contained gene cassettes, including arrays aadA1-aadB (4.4%), aad A24-dfrA1-ORF1 (2.2%) and aadA1 (2.2%). Furthermore, all tested isolates harbored virulent genes plo and fimA, followed by fimC (88.9%), fimE (86.6%) nanP (75.6%), nanH (40.0%), cbpA (35.6%) and fimG (6.7%). To our knowledge, this is the first report of integron gene cassettes of T. pyogenes isolates from bovine mastitis cases in China. These findings are useful for developing the prevention and the virulence factors of T. pyogenes could be promising candidates for vaccine antigens for bovine mastitis caused by T. pyogenes in China.

Genetic parameters for mid-infrared-spectroscopy-predicted mastitis phenotypes and related traits.

Genetic improvement of udder health in dairy cows is of high relevance as mastitis is one of the most prevalent diseases. Since it is known that the heritability of mastitis is low and direct data on mastitis cases are often not available in large numbers, auxiliary traits, such as somatic cell count (SCC) are used for the genetic evaluation of udder health. In previous studies, models to predict clinical mastitis based on mid-infrared (MIR) spectral data and a somatic cell count-derived score (SCS) were developed. Those models can provide a probability of mastitis for each cow at every test-day, which is potentially useful as an additional auxiliary trait for the genetic evaluation of udder health. Furthermore, MIR spectral data were used to estimate contents of lactoferrin, a glycoprotein positively associated with immune response. The present study aimed to estimate heritabilities (h2) and genetic correlations (ra) for clinical mastitis diagnosis (CM), SCS, MIR-predicted mastitis probability (MIRprob), MIR + SCS-predicted mastitis probability (MIRSCSprob) and lactoferrin estimates (LF). Data for this study were collected within the routine milk recording and health monitoring system of Austria from 2014 to 2021 and included records of approximately 54,000 Fleckvieh cows. Analyses were performed in two datasets, including test-day records from 5 to 150 or 5 to 305 days in milk. Prediction models were applied to obtain MIR- and SCS-based phenotypes (MIRprob, MIRSCSprob, LF). To estimate heritabilities and genetic correlations bivariate linear animal models were applied for all traits. A lactation model was used for CM, defined as a binary trait, and a test-day model for all other continuous traits. In addition to the random animal genetic effect, the fixed effects year-season of calving and parity-age at calving and the random permanent environmental effect were considered in all models. For CM the random herd-year effect, for continuous traits the random herd-test day effect and the covariate days in milk (linear and quadratic) were additionally fitted. The obtained genetic parameters were similar in both datasets. The heritability found for CM was expectedly low (h2 = 0.02). For SCS and MIRSCSprob, heritability estimates ranged from 0.23 to 0.25, and for MIRprob and LF from 0.15 to 0.17. CM was highly correlated with SCS and MIRSCSprob (ra = 0.85 to 0.88). Genetic correlations of CM were moderate with MIRprob (ra = 0.26 and 0.37) during 150 and 305 days in milk, respectively and low with LF (h2 = 0.10 and 0.11). However, basic selection index calculations indicate that the added value of the new MIR-predicted phenotypes is limited for genetic evaluation of udder health.

Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli and Other Antimicrobial-Resistant Gram-Negative Pathogens Isolated from Bovine Mastitis: A One Health Perspective.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses an imminent threat to global public health, driven in part by the widespread use of antimicrobials in both humans and animals. Within the dairy cattle industry, Gram-negative coliforms such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae stand out as major causative agents of clinical mastitis. These same bacterial species are frequently associated with severe infections in humans, including bloodstream and urinary tract infections, and contribute significantly to the alarming surge in antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections worldwide. Additionally, mastitis-causing coliforms often carry AMR genes akin to those found in hospital-acquired strains, notably the extended-spectrum beta-lactamase genes. This raises concerns regarding the potential transmission of resistant bacteria and AMR from mastitis cases in dairy cattle to humans. In this narrative review, we explore the distinctive characteristics of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli and Klebsiella spp. strains implicated in clinical mastitis and human infections. We focus on the molecular mechanisms underlying AMR in these bacterial populations and critically evaluate the potential for interspecies transmission. Despite some degree of similarity observed in sequence types and mobile genetic elements between strains found in humans and cows, the existing literature does not provide conclusive evidence to assert that coliforms responsible for mastitis in cows pose a direct threat to human health. Finally, we also scrutinize the existing literature, identifying gaps and limitations, and propose avenues for future research to address these pressing challenges comprehensively.

A Temporal Study on Incidence of Bovine Mastitis in Haryana, India

Mastitis affects dairy animal’s productivity and causes financial losses for dairy farmers in India and across the world. In this study, a total of 52,494 quarter milk samples from 14,381 bovines were screened for the primary microorganisms causing mastitis in Hisar and adjoining districts of Haryana and their antibiotic sensitivity patterns were analyzed. The cultural positivity from subclinical form of mastitis was observed as 86.32% and 87.73% from cows and buffaloes, respectively while that from clinical mastitis was 87.36% and 87.57%. The major Gram positive bacterial pathogens associated with mastitis in the entire study period were found as Staphylococcus species with an average incidence rate of 45.53% and 44.1% from cows and buffaloes, respectively. The Streptococcus species were found to be 33.76% and 29.94% of total isolates. Escherichia coli were the most predominant Gram negative bacteria isolated (17.37% and 13.85%), thereafter Klebsiella spp. (5.54% and 5.19%) from both cows and buffaloes. A significant proportion of clinical cases of mastitis were chronic in nature from both the species of bovines. The incidence of mastitis with respect to different lactation number and lactation months was found as significant. The highest incidences of mastitis was observed in the first lactation among buffaloes (20.69%), while the maximum incidences were observed in second and third lactation in cows with 16.59% and 16.99%, respectively. However, in both the species maximum occurrence of mastitis was observed during the first lactational month. The antibiotic sensitivity patterns of most of the isolates had shown higher sensitivity towards enrofloxacin and gentamicin, while the penicillin had shown least sensitivity. The knowledge regarding the mastitis causing pathogens and their sensitivity pattern in Hisar and adjoining districts of Haryana enables the veterinarians to adopt for the proper treatment protocols and dairy farmers to assure optimal health, welfare and productivity of bovines in the State, in turn reducing antimicrobial resistance.

Virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes detected in Staphylococcus spp. isolated from clinical and non-clinical mastitis using whole-genome sequencing

Staphylococcus spp. are among the most isolated bacteria in clinical and subclinical mastitis cases in dairy cattle. The genus comprises biofilm-forming bacteria capable of producing toxins and acquiring resistance to multiple drugs. This work aimed to evaluate the genetic profile related to virulence and antimicrobial resistance characteristics of Staphylococcus spp., isolated from clinical mastitis and non-clinical fresh cows using whole genome sequencing (WGS). The bacterial collection consisted of 29 Staphylococcus strains isolated from clinical cases of mastitis (n = 7), as well as milk samples collected from fresh cows (n = 22). Strains were identified as Staphylococcus aureus (n = 2), Staphylococcus chromogenes (n = 19), and Staphylococcus haemolyticus (n = 8). A total of 94 virulence genes were observed, including pvl, icaA, icaD genes, and microbial surface components that recognize adhesive matrix molecules (MSCRAMMs). We also detected important resistance genes such as blaZ, ant(4), erm(B), fexA, lnu(D), tet(L), and tet(M). The phylogenetic tree listed the species as expected and presented four clades. A variety of virulence and resistance genes were detected. In addition, the expression of important genes such as those responsible for the formation of biofilms and enterotoxins may represent a risk to the health of consumers. being a concern for public health.

Using infrared thermography to determine changes in teat skin surface temperature after machine milking in dairy cows

Mastitis is among the costliest diseases affecting dairy cows, partly due to the resulting permanent reduction in the quantity and quality of milk produced. Most mastitis cases involve pathogenic organisms entering the cow's mammary gland through the teat canal. The teat has natural defenses against these pathogens that can be disrupted during milk harvesting. These disruptions of the teat's circulatory system and tissue integrity can predispose them to mastitis. Traditionally, machine milking–induced changes in teat blood circulation and tissue integrity have been assessed by means of manual evaluation and ultrasonography. Infrared thermography has previously been shown to produce precise and consistent measurements of skin surface temperatures (SST) on cows' hind teats. Our objective was to describe the variability in the teat SST following machine milking. Describing the variability in teat SST before and after milking could be useful to guide further studies to elucidate the physiology of the effects of milking on teat defense mechanisms. In this observational study, thermographic images of both hind teats from 140 cows immediately pre- and postmachine milking were analyzed. The average SST were subsequently determined at the proximal, middle, and distal aspects of each hind teat using image analysis software. The LSM (95% CI) from general linear mixed models of the pre- and postmilking SST, respectively, were 33.6 (33.5–33.8)°C and 35.4 (35.3–35.5)°C at the proximal aspect, 33.2 (33.1–33.4)°C and 35.2 (35.1–35.3)°C at the middle aspect, and 32.3 (32.1–32.5)°C and 34.0 (33.9–34.1)°C at the distal aspect. The observed increase in SST from pre- to postmilking SST at all 3 aspects of the teat suggest that some of the variability in the SST can be attributed to the milking event. Future research is warranted to investigate the biological relevance of SST changes during machine milking and any potential change in teat defense mechanisms, risk of mastitis, or other pathologies.