Increased incidence of protothecal mastitis has been recorded in several countries in the past ten years. The main goal of this article is to draw the attention of scientific and professional community to the emerging issue of mammary protothecosis. The article collates currently known facts about infection reservoirs, predisposing factors for the development of mastitis, clinical manifestations of the disease, and potential transmission routes within the herd as well as the measures for control and eradication. We would like to point out that identification of protothecal mastitis on a dairy farm is associated with a range of problems. Early detection of infected animals can be difficult because of predominantly subclinical course of early-stage infection, which easily spreads between cows via the milking system. Spontaneous recovery has not been recorded and infected cows typically develop chronic mastitis with granulomatous infiltration and progressive loss of functional parenchyma of the mammary gland. Substantial economic losses and health damages associated with mammary protothecosis strongly emphasise the need for developing effective prevention strategies aimed at control of the infection.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of negative energy balance (NEB) on the final growth of the dominant ovarian follicle in Holstein cows. Cows at 14 to 21 d postpartum from an intensive dairy farm were randomly selected and allocated into a positive energy balance group (PEB, with β-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA) level < 1.2 mmol/L, n = 15) and an NEB group (BHBA > 1.2 mmol/L, n = 15). Plasma samples were collected at 21, 50 and 55 d postpartum to assess the concentrations of energy metabolites, minerals, hormones and cytokines. Ovaries were examined by transrectal ultrasound on days 50 and 55 (120 hours later) to evaluate the diameter of the largest follicle. Compared with PEB cows, there were a more severe body condition loss and a lower milk yield in NEB cows (P < 0.05) and these had greater concentrations of plasma BHBA, non-esterified fatty acids, triglycerides, urea nitrogen, growth hormone, interleukin 6, and fibroblast growth factor 21 and lesser concentrations of plasma glucose, total cholesterol, insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3, leptin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and angiopoietin-like protein 8 on d 21 (P < 0.05), while plasma minerals were not affected by energy status (P > 0.05). These changes persisted until the end of the study period (50–55 days postpartum) resulting in a lower follicular growth rate for cows in the NEB than the PEB group. These observations indicate that follicular growth rate is associated with measurable changes in energy metabolite, hormone and cytokine concentrations caused by early postpartum NEB.

Disinfection is key for controlling microbial contamination and ensuring the safe production of milk and dairy products. In this study, we developed a new disinfection method using quaternary ammonium surfactant N-dodecyl-2-(pyridin-1-yl) acetamide chloride as the main component to form a bactericidal complex with either chlorhexidine acetate or glutaraldehyde, and we evaluated the bactericidal effects, safety, and clinical application value of the compound disinfectants. An in vivo acute oral toxicity assay in mice showed an LD50 > 5000 mg/kg body weight without abnormality in pathological tissue sections. Comparison with commercially available products also showed that they have outstanding bactericidal effects. Clinical trials proved that the compound disinfectants have excellent bactericidal effects on the air and ground of the dairy farm and on the skin of cattle, especially in a dairy farm environment. Our findings confirm that the new compound disinfectants have excellent bactericidal performance and are safe to use as disinfectants to prevent mastitis and contamination of the cattle farm environment.

The primary objective of this study was to explore the variability of Streptococcus uberis (S. uberis) isolates by extracting multilocus sequence typing (MLST) data from whole-genome sequencing. The secondary objective was to determine the distribution of the phenotypic antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the associated AMR genes as well as the virulence gene profiles among sequence types (STs). Sixty-two isolates were recovered from 16 herds in 3 Canadian Maritime Provinces: New Brunswick (14.5%), Nova Scotia (48.3%), and Prince Edward Island (37.1%). Of these, 9, 30, and 23 were recovered from post-calving, lactational samples, and post-mastitis samples, respectively. These 62 S. uberis isolates belonged to 34 STs; 11 isolates were typed to 9 known STs and 51 isolates were classified as one of 25 new STs. Thirteen isolates were part of major clonal complexes (CCs). Post-mastitis isolates contained 10 unique STs, lactational isolates contained 11 unique STs, and post-calving isolates had 3 STs. Each farm had only 1 isolate that was a unique ST except for STs 233, 851, 855, 857, 864, and 866, which were found in multiple cows per herd on more than one farm. ST851 and ST857 were found in each of the 3 sample types, with ST857 found in cows from all 3 Maritime provinces. These results indicate that S. uberis is a diverse non-clonal pathogen with specific STs residing in clonal clusters, carrying multiple AMR genes and virulence, with a diverse phenotypic AMR.

The aim of this study was to characterize peripartum metabolic profiles, including the insulin sensitivity index, in cows diagnosed with subclinical ketosis (SCK) in the early stage of lactation. Cows that calved from January 2011 through December 2014 on a dairy farm with alarm level prevalence of SCK in Hokkaido, Japan (n = 175) were used. Blood and body condition scores (BCS) were obtained at regular health examinations in 2 consecutive periods, the first between 14 and 2 d before parturition, and the second between 3 and 14 d after parturition. Animals were divided into 3 groups at postpartum sampling: an SCK group with 35 multiparous and 15 primiparous cows having β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) concentrations ≥ 1.2 mM without clinical signs, a disease group of 36 multiparous and 9 primiparous cows that received treatment between parturition and postpartum sampling, and a control group consisting of 49 multiparous and 31 primiparous cows with BHBA concentrations < 1.2 mM. The prepartum revised quantitative insulin sensitivity check index was significantly lower in the multiparous SCK and disease groups than in the control group, demonstrating decreased insulin sensitivity in these cows, but not in primiparous cows. The prepartum BCS was significantly higher only in the multiparous SCK and disease groups. The prepartum apolipoprotein B-100 (ApoB-100) concentration was significantly decreased in the multiparous disease group, suggesting hepatic lipidosis. Conversely, primiparous cows had a higher prepartum ApoB-100 concentration. Prepartum decreased insulin sensitivity in the multiparous SCK and disease groups was considered to facilitate progression to SCK after calving.

Objective-To evaluate various sampling strategies for potential use in measuring prevalence of antimicrobial susceptibility in cattle. Sample Population-500 isolates of non-type-specific Escherichia coli (NTSEC) isolated from the feces of 50 cows from 2 dairy farms (25 cows/farm and 10 isolates/cow). Procedures-Diameters of inhibition zones for 12 antimicrobials were analyzed to estimate variation among isolates, cows, and farms and then used to determine sampling distributions for a stochastic simulation model to evaluate 4 sampling strategies. These theoretic sampling strategies used a total of 100 isolates in 4 allocations (1 isolate from 100 cows, 2 isolates from 50 cows, 3 isolates from 33 cows, or 4 isolates from 25 cows). Results-Analysis of variance composition revealed that 74.2% of variation was attributable to isolates, 18.5% to cows, and 7.3% to farms. Analysis of results of simulations suggested that when most of the variance was attributable to differences among isolates within a cow, culturing 1 isolate from each of 100 cows underestimated overall prevalence, compared with results for culturing more isolates per cow from fewer cows. When variance was not primarily attributable to differences among isolates, all 4 sampling strategies yielded similar results. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-It is not always possible to predict the hierarchical level at which clustering will have its greatest impact on observed susceptibility distributions. Results suggested that sampling strategies that use testing of 3 or 4 isolates/cow from a representative sample of all animals better characterize herd prevalence of antimicrobial resistance when impacted by clustering.

A virologic survey was conducted on calves with diarrhea associated with bovine rotavirus (BRV) on a closed dairy farm. The BRV was detected from 32 of 219 (14.6%) fecal specimens repeatedly collected from 56 calves born during the years 1992-1993, regardless of whether they had diarrhea. Most of the 32 strains were isolated from fecal specimens obtained from 2-to 6-week-old calves. After electrophoresis of doublestranded viral RNA from the 32 strains, genomic RNA migration patterns were similar to those of the predominant BRV strains isolated at the same farm during the years 1990-1991. All representative strains were identified as G serotype 6 (G6) and P type 5 (P5) by results of the virus-neutralization test and polymerase chain reaction procedure. Thus, BRV had no change in genomic RNA electropherotypes and serologic antigenicities in a closed dairy herd over a period of several years.

Objective—To evaluate enterotoxin production, enterotoxin gene distribution, and genetic diversity of Staphylococcus aureus in milk obtained from cows with subclinical mastitis. Sample—Milk samples obtained from 350 cows (1,354 mammary glands) on 11 Wisconsin dairy farms. Procedures—Of 252 S aureus isolates obtained from 146 cows, 83 isolates (from 66 cows with subclinical mastitis) were compared genotypically by use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and via PCR identification of toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST-1) and classical S aureus enterotoxin genes (sea, seb, sec, sed, and see). Results—Among the 83 S aureus isolates, ≥ 1 enterotoxin genes were identified in 8 (9.6%). Enterotoxin gene distribution was as follows: TSST-1, 7 isolates (8.4%); sec, 5 isolates (6.0%); and sed, 2 isolates (2.4%). Enterotoxin genes sea, seb, and see were not identified. Twelve pulsotypes and 5 subtypes were identified among the 83 isolates; 5 of the 12 pulsotypes were represented by only 1 isolate. In cows of 1 herd, only a single S aureus pulsotype was detected; in cows on most other farms, a variety of pulsotypes were identified. One pulsotype was recovered from 4 farms (n = 23 cows) and another from 5 other farms (16). Isolates with an enterotoxin gene were represented by 6 pulsotypes. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—S aureus classical enterotoxins and TSST-1 were rarely recovered from milk samples obtained from cows with subclinical mastitis in Wisconsin. Diverse pulsotypes of S aureus were detected within and among farms, indicating that different strains of S aureus cause subclinical mastitis in dairy cows.

Rotavirus B (RVB) infection in cattle is poorly understood. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiological features of repeated outbreaks of epidemic diarrhea due to RVB infection in adult cattle on a large dairy farm complex in Japan. In October 2002, approximately 550 adult cows and approximately 450 in February 2005 had acute watery diarrhea at several farms on the complex. Four months before the first outbreak, RVB antibody-positive rates at subsequently affected farms were significantly lower than at non-affected farms (30% to 32% versus 61% to 67%). During the acute phase of both outbreaks, RVB antibody-positive rates in diarrheal cows tested were as low as 15% to 26%. Most of the farms affected in the second outbreak were also involved in the first outbreak. Some adult cows with RVB diarrhea in the first outbreak showed not only RVB seroresponse, but also RVB shedding in the second outbreak, although none of these cows developed diarrhea. Nucleotide sequences of the VP7 and VP4 genes revealed a close relationship between RVB strains in both outbreaks. Taken together, these results indicate that outbreaks of epidemic RVB diarrhea in adult cows might be influenced by herd immunity and could occur repeatedly at the same farms over several years. To our knowledge, this is the first report on repeated RVB infections in the same cattle.

Three dogs reared on a dairy farm with a high incidence for Brucella abortus were serologically positive for B. abortus and no other Brucella spp. The identity of the organism was confirmed to be B. abortus by AMOS (abortus melitensis ovis suis)-polymerase chain reaction with specific primers for B. canis. One hundred percent homology of the canine isolate and the bovine pathogen isolated from the farm was demonstrated. The only possible source of infection was infected cattle on the same farm. It is suggested that dogs be routinely included in brucellosis surveillance and eradication programs.