Herd Level Risk Factors Associated with the Presence of Coagulase- negative Staphylococcus Species with Substantial Impact on Udder Health: Outline of a New Study and Preliminary Results

摘要

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are the most frequently isolated mastitis pathogens from cows with and without a high somatic cell count (Schukken et al., 2009). They are also the major cause of mastitis in heifers (Piepers et al., 2010). In addition, they are abundantly present in the cows' environment (Piessens et al., 2011) and on teat apices (Braem et al., 2013). The members of this heterogeneous group have traditionally been regarded as minor pathogens (Schukken et al., 2009). We recentlyreported that intramammary infections (IMI) with Staphylococcus chromogenes, S. xylosus and S. simulans are associated with quarter somatic cell counts that are not different from those associated with Staphylococcus aureus-lMl. These CNS species are therefore considered to have a more substantial impact on udder health (Supre et al., 2011).