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The role of teat skin contamination in the epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus intramammary infections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 October 2008

Renata Piccinini ,
Lorenza Cesaris ,
Valentina Daprà ,
Vitaliano Borromeo ,
Claudia Picozzi ,
Camillo Secchi  and
Alfonso Zecconi
Renata Piccinini
Affiliation:
Dept. of Animal Pathology, Hygiene and Public Health. Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy
Lorenza Cesaris
Affiliation:
Dept. of Animal Pathology, Hygiene and Public Health. Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy
Valentina Daprà
Affiliation:
Dept. of Animal Pathology, Hygiene and Public Health. Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy
Vitaliano Borromeo
Affiliation:
Dept. of Animal Pathology, Hygiene and Public Health. Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy
Claudia Picozzi
Affiliation:
Dept. Food Science and Technology. Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 2, 20133Milano
Camillo Secchi
Affiliation:
Dept. of Animal Pathology, Hygiene and Public Health. Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy
Alfonso Zecconi*
Affiliation:
Dept. of Animal Pathology, Hygiene and Public Health. Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy
*
*For correspondence; e-mail: alfonso.zecconi@unimi.it
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Abstract

Knowledge of the epidemiological pattern and the potential sources of infections is important to control Staphylococcus aureus in dairy herds. This paper reports the results of a study applying both pulse field gel electrophoresis (PGFE) and the assessment of a selected number of virulence genes to investigate the role of teat skin on Staph. aureus transmission among cows and on the contamination of milk. Overall 61 isolates were considered, 23 from teat skin, 33 from milk samples and 5 from curd samples. Teat swabs were taken in five herds, but in only three of them could Staph. aureus be isolated. Curd was sampled in three herds, but Staph. aureus could be isolated in only two herds. The distribution of isolates among herds confirmed the presence of herd-specific Staph. aureus strain in most of the herds. The same pattern was observed in teat skin samples, in quarter milk samples, and in the curd samples. Our findings are consistent with other studies showing the role of teat skin as a potential reservoir. Moreover, Staph. aureus was isolated from teat skin of confirmed Staph. aureus-negative cows that were segregated from infected ones. Our findings also suggest that some strains have higher chances to survive on teat skin and therefore to increase the risk for contamination of milk and milk products due to the persistence of intramammary infections.

Keywords

Staphylococcus aureusintramammary infectionsteat skinmolecular epidemiologyPFGE
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Dairy Research , Volume 76 , Issue 1 , February 2009 , pp. 36 - 41
Copyright
Copyright © Proprietors of Journal of Dairy Research 2008

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