Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Control, and Prevention of Bovine Staphylococcal Mastitis

Bovine mastitis is the single most costly disease usually caused by Bacteria. The genus Staphylococcus is major bacteria that cause mastitis in dairy cattle. Staphylococci that cause bovine mastitis are commonly divided into two major groups such as 1) Staphylococcus aureus and 2) non-aureus staphylococci (NAS). Staphylococcus aureus causes clinical and subclinical mastitis in dairy cows. Accurate diagnosis of Staphylococcus species can be made by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time Of Flight (MALDI-TOF), 16S RNA gene sequencing, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In well-managed dairy farms that fully applied mastitis control measures, the incidence of S. aureus mastitis significantly reduced. However, staphylococcal mastitis is still major problem in most farms due to variation in management and presence of some species of non-aureus staphylococci in the environment. There is no effective vaccine that prevent staphylococcal mastitis. Treatment with antibiotics is increasingly less effective and increases development of antimicrobial resistant bacteria. Sustainable non-antibiotic staphylococcal mastitis prevention measures such as vaccines, probiotics, good herd health management and other improved methods are required. To develop an innovative control tool detailed understanding of staphylococcal virulence factors, pathogenesis, and host immunological responses is critically important. This chapter discusses the pathogenesis, host responses and current control and prevention methods.