Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T11:04:40.607Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Whatever happened to mastitis pathogenesis?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 September 2020

J. Eric Hillerton
J. Eric Hillerton*
Affiliation:
Cambridge, New Zealand
*
Author for correspondence: J. Eric Hillerton, Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We have learned a lot about infections of the mammary gland of dairy cows from experimental investigations of the pathogenesis of the various diseases. The understanding gained has contributed to huge successes in reducing the prevalence of infection in properly managed dairy herds. Now descriptive studies using DNA technologies reject previous concepts of mammary gland sterility by default. Bacteria, at least markers of genes, of many genera are reported even from absolutely healthy mammary glands. This may be a technological artefact. No direct evidence exists because experimental studies of infection are no longer fashionable. A regeneration of the lost arts in the pathogenesis of infection is essential to separate truth from conjecture and deal with coming challenges from rapidly changing farm systems and the reduction in access to antimicrobial drugs. In this Opinion Paper I argue for a return to experimental approaches that construct hypotheses, and then test them, in intramammary disease research.

Keywords

Experimental infectionmastitispathogenesis
Type
Research Reflection
Information
Journal of Dairy Research , Volume 87 , Issue 3 , August 2020 , pp. 273 - 276
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Hannah Dairy Research Foundation

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Booth, JM (1997) Progress in mastitis control – an evolving problem. Proceedings of the British Mastitis Conference, Genus/IAH/Novartis Animal Health/MDC, pp. 3–9.Google Scholar
Bramley, AJ (1976) Variations in the susceptibility of lactating and non-lactating bovine udders to infection when infused with Escherichia coli. Journal of Dairy Research 43, 205–211.10.1017/S0022029900015752CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bramley, AJ and Dodd, FH (1984) Reviews of the progress of dairy science: mastitis control – progress and prospects. Journal of Dairy Research 51, 481–512.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bramley, AJ, Kingwill, RG, Griffin, TK and Simpkin, DL (1976) Prevalence of Corynebacterium bovis in bovine milk samples. Veterinary Record 99, 275.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Derakhshani, H, Fehr, KB, Sepehri, S, Francoz, D, De Buck, J, Barkema, HW, Plaizier, JC and Khafipour, E (2018) Invited review: microbiota of the bovine udder: contributing factors and potential implications for udder health and mastitis susceptibility. Journal of Dairy Science 101, 10605–10625.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dodd, FH and Neave, FK (1970) Mastitis control. National Institute for Research in Dairying, Biennial Reviews, pp. 21–60.Google Scholar
Fredericks, DN and Relman, DA (1996) Sequence-based identification of microbial pathogens: a reconsideration of Koch's postulates. Clinical Microbiological Reviews 9, 18–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanage, WP (2014) Microbiology: microbiome science needs a healthy dose of scepticism. Nature 512, 247–248.Google Scholar
Hillerton, JE and Bramley, AJ (1989) Infection following challenge of the lactating and dry udder of dairy cows with Actinomyces pyogenes and Peptostreptococcus indolicus. British Veterinary Journal 145, 148–158.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hillerton, JE and Booth, JM (2018) The Five-Point Mastitis Control Plan – A Revisory Tutorial! Proceedings of the 57th Annual Meeting of the NMC, Tucson AZ, pp. 3–19Google Scholar
Koch, R (1884) Die aetiologie der tuberkulose. Mittleilungen aus dem Kaiserliche Gesundheitsamte 2, 1–88.Google Scholar
Kuehn, JS, Gorden, PJ, Munro, P, Rong, R, Dong, Q, Plummer, PJ, Wang, C and Phillips, GJ (2013) Bacterial community profiling of milk samples as a means to understand culture-negative bovine clinical mastitis. PloS One 8, e61959.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Newbould, FHS and Neave, FK (1965) The response of the bovine mammary gland to an infusion of staphylococci. Journal of Dairy Research 32, 163–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OIE (2019) Responsible and prudent use of antimicrobial agents in veterinary medicine. OIE – Terrestrial Animal Health Code – 28/06/2019 Chapter 6.10, p. 10.Google Scholar
Pearson, LJ, Williamson, JH, Turner, S-A and Hillerton, JE (2013) Peripartum infection with Streptococcus uberis but not coagulase-negative staphylococci reduced milk production in primiparous cows. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 158–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rainard, P (2017) Mammary microbiota of dairy ruminants: fact or fiction? Veterinary Research 48, 25–34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robben, C, Fister, S, Witte, AK, Schoder, D, Rossmanith, P and Mester, P (2018) Induction of the viable but nonculturable state in bacterial pathogen by household cleaners and inorganic salts. Scientific Reports 8, 815132–815140. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-33595-5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taponen, S, McGuinness, D, Hiitiö, H, Simojoki, H, Zadoks, R and Pyörälä, S (2019) Bovine milk microbiome: a more complex issue than expected. Veterinary Research 50, 44–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomas, LH, Haider, W, Hill, AW and Cook, RS (1994) Pathologic findings of experimentally induced Streptococcus uberis infection in the mammary gland of cows. American Journal of Veterinary Research 55, 1723–1728.Google ScholarPubMed
Valckenier, D, Piepers, S, De Visscher, A, Bruckmaier, RM and De Vliegher, S (2019) Effect of intramammary infection with non-aureus staphylococci in early lactation in dairy heifers on quarter somatic cell count and quarter milk yield during the first 4 months of lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 102, 6442–6453.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Watts, J (1988) Etiological agents of bovine mastitis. Veterinary Microbiology 16, 41–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wellenberg, GJ, van der Poel, WH and Van Oirschot, JT (2002) Viral infections and bovine mastitis: a review. Veterinary Microbiology 88, 27–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xu, H, Roberts, N, Singleton, FL, Attwell, RW, Grimes, DJ and Colwell, R (1982) Survival and viability of nonculturable Escherichia coli And Vibrio cholerae In the estuarine and marine environment. Microbial Ecology 8, 313–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar