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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 2001, p. 1460-1466, Vol. 39, No. 4
Veterinary Preclinical Centre, Faculty of
Veterinary Science, The University of Melbourne,
Melbourne,1 Veterinary Clinical
Centre, Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Melbourne,
Werribee,2 and Kyabram Veterinary
Clinic, Kyabram,3 Victoria, Australia
Received 21 June 2000/Returned for modification 11 October
2000/Accepted 29 January 2001
Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and antimicrobial sensitivity
testing were used as tools to investigate the epidemiology of
Streptococcus uberis mastitis in dairy cows. A total of 62 different strains were found among 138 isolates from the four herds
investigated, and between 10 and 26 different strains were found in
each herd. There was no strain common to all four herds. Identical
strains of S. uberis were detected from different quarters of individual cows and from cows within the same herd, suggesting that
transmission from quarter to quarter and cow to cow had occurred. Despite the great variation in S. uberis strains,
persistent infection with the same strain within a lactation was
observed in most cows. Predominant strains were present in two herds.
Preliminary investigations could not clarify why these particular
strains might predominate, but in one herd there was a significant
difference between the prevalence of clinical mastitis in quarters
infected with the predominant strain and that in quarters infected with
other strains, suggesting the greater virulence of the predominant
strain. The wide variety of S. uberis strains found is
consistent with an environmental source of S. uberis.
However, evidence of direct transmission, the persistence of infection,
and the predominance of particular strains in some herds indicate that
S. uberis infections are epidemiologically complex and that
the relative importance of these factors in the occurrence of mastitis
may differ between herds.
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.39.4.1460-1466.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Molecular Epidemiology of Streptococcus
uberis Isolates from Dairy Cows with Mastitis
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Veterinary
Preclinical Centre, Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of
Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia. Phone: (613) 8344 7342. Fax: (613) 8344 7374. E-mail: glenfb{at}unimelb.edu.au.
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