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Title: PREVALENCE OF CAPSULAR SEROTYPES AMONG STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS ISOLATES FROM MASTITIC COWS IN THE UNITED STATES

Author
item Guidry, Albert
item FATTOM, A - NABI
item PATEL, A - NABI
item Obrien, Celia

Submitted to: Mastitis Research Workers Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/21/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Development of an appropriate Staphylococcus aureus vaccine for bovine mastitis has eluded researchers for decades. The ability of S. aureus to form a protective exopolysaccharide capsule has posed a major obstacle because of their multiple serotypes and the poor immune response elicited by exopolysaccharides. This study characterized S. aureus serotypes isolated from cases of bovine mastitis obtained from veterinary diagnostic laboratories that screen 44% of the dairy cattle in the United States. Subsamples of mastitic milk identified as S. aureus positive were frozen and sent to our laboratory for serotyping. The only other serotyping of S. aureus from bovine mastitis to date was done in France and Israel. The primary serotypes found were types 5 and 8. Antiserum to S. aureus serotypes 5 and 8 were used to type the isolates in this study. Serotype 8 was the dominant serotpye (23%). More importantly 59% of the isolates were not typeable with either 5 or 8. This data indicate that further serotyping is needed before effective S. aureus mastitis vaccines can be developed.