Dataset Information

Control of Staphylococcus aureus in dairy herds in a region with raw milk cheese production: farmers' attitudes, knowledge, behaviour and belief in self-efficacy.

ABSTRACT: Contagious mastitis is an important disease in dairy cattle, and the causative agent S. aureus can also impair raw milk cheese quality. In a confined region in eastern Switzerland attitude, knowledge and behaviour towards S. aureus und S. aureus control was assessed in 90 dairy farmers with communal alpine pasturing including raw milk cheese production with the aid of a questionnaire.Forty-three out of 90 questionnaires were returned (48% return rate). Farmers perceived reproductive problems as most important in their dairy herds followed by respiratory disease and diarrhoea in young stock. Most frequently stated as important motivating factors to participate in S. aureus control were "avoiding negative news about cheese quality in the press" followed by "I want to be proud of my somatic cell counts again". Most frequently chosen and identified as important constraining factors were "I fear that the authorities dictate and the farmers are not heard" followed by "costs to control S. aureus are too high because of premature culling" and "I am afraid to be forced to cull genetically valuable cows". Farmers with an experience of a S. aureus problem in their dairy herds had a significantly better knowledge about contagiosity and clinical manifestation of different S. aureus genotypes than farmers with no self-reported experience of a S. aureus problem. Veterinarians were indicated as the most important experts, farmers seek advice in case of mastitis and most farmers suggested subsidising bacteriological milk analysis as an incentive to motivate farmers towards S. aureus control.According to the results an improved knowledge transfer on S. aureus to dairy producers and an integrative approach to a S. aureus control program with subsidising milk analysis will be most promising to improve the S. aureus situation in this confinded region of eastern Switzerland. Veterinarians should cover a key role in consulting farmers during the control program.

SUBMITTER: Cousin ME

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5810121 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Control of Staphylococcus aureus in dairy herds in a region with raw milk cheese production: farmers' attitudes, knowledge, behaviour and belief in self-efficacy.

Cousin Marie-Eve ME Härdi-Landerer Maria Christina MC Völk Verena V Bodmer Michèle M

BMC veterinary research 20180213 1

<h4>Background</h4>Contagious mastitis is an important disease in dairy cattle, and the causative agent S. aureus can also impair raw milk cheese quality. In a confined region in eastern Switzerland attitude, knowledge and behaviour towards S. aureus und S. aureus control was assessed in 90 dairy farmers with communal alpine pasturing including raw milk cheese production with the aid of a questionnaire.<h4>Results</h4>Forty-three out of 90 questionnaires were returned (48% return rate). Farmers ...[more]

PMID: 29433483

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Project description:Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important contagious mastitis pathogens in dairy cattle. Due to its zoonotic potential, control of S. aureus is not only of great economic importance in the dairy industry but also a significant public health concern. The aim of this study was to decipher the potential of bovine udder associated S. aureus as reservoir for S. aureus contamination in dairy production and processing. From 18 farms, delivering their milk to an alpine dairy plant for the production of smeared semi-hard and hard cheese. one thousand hundred seventy six one thousand hundred seventy six quarter milk (QM) samples of all cows in lactation (n = 294) and representative samples form bulk tank milk (BTM) of all farms were surveyed for coagulase positive (CPS) and coagulase negative Staphylococci (CNS). Furthermore, samples from different steps of the cheese manufacturing process were tested for CPS and CNS. As revealed by chemometric-assisted FTIR spectroscopy and molecular subtyping (spa typing and multi locus sequence typing), dairy cattle represent indeed an important, yet underreported, entrance point of S. aureus into the dairy chain. Our data clearly show that certain S. aureus subtypes are present in primary production as well as in the cheese processing at the dairy plant. However, although a considerable diversity of S. aureus subtypes was observed in QM and BTM at the farms, only certain S. aureus subtypes were able to enter and persist in the cheese manufacturing at the dairy plant and could be isolated from cheese until day 14 of ripening. Farm strains belonging to the FTIR cluster B1 and B3, which show genetic characteristics (t2953, ST8, enterotoxin profile: sea/sed/sej) of the recently described S. aureus genotype B, most successfully contaminated the cheese production at the dairy plant. Thus, our study fosters the hypothesis that genotype B S. aureus represent a specific challenge in control of S. aureus in the dairy chain that requires effective clearance strategies and hygienic measures already in primary production to avoid a potential transfer of enterotoxic strains or enterotoxins into the dairy processing and the final retail product.

Project description:Escherichia coli is a common bacterium in the intestines of animals, and it is also the major important cause of toxic mastitis, which is an acute or peracute disease that causes a higher incidence of death and culling of cattle. The purpose of this study was to investigate E. coli strains isolated from the raw milk of dairy cattle in Northern China, and the antibacterial susceptibility of these strains and essential virulence genes. From May to September 2015, 195 raw milk samples were collected from 195 dairy farms located in Northern China. Among the samples, 67 (34.4%) samples were positive for E. coli. About 67 E. coli strains were isolated from these 67 samples. The prevalence of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), and enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) were 9, 6, 4.5, and 1.5%, respectively. Among the virulence genes detected, stx1 was the most prevalent (6/67, 9%) gene, followed by eae (3/67, 4.5%), and estB (2/67, 3%). Moreover, the strains exhibited different resistance levels to ampicillin (46.3%), amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (16.4%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (13.4%), tetracycline (13.4%), cefoxitin (11.9%), chloramphenicol (7.5%), kanamycin (7.5%), streptomycin (6.0%), tobramycin (4.5%), azithromycin (4.5%), and ciprofloxacin (1.5%). All of the E. coli isolates were susceptible to gentamicin. The prevalence of β-lactamase-encoding genes was 34.3% in 67 E. coli isolates and 45% in 40 β-lactam-resistance E. coli isolates. The overall prevalence of bla SHV, bla TEM, bla CMY, and bla CTX-M genes were 1.5, 20.9, 10.4, and 1.5%, respectively. Nine non-pathogenic E. coli isolates also carried β-lactamase resistance genes, which may transfer to other pathogenic E. coli and pose a threat to the farm's mastitis management projects. Our results showed that most of E. coli were multidrug resistant and possessed multiple virulence genes, which may have a huge potential hazard with public health, and antibiotic resistance of E. coli was prevalent in dairy herds in Northern China, and ampicillin should be used cautiously for mastitis caused by E. coli in Northern China.

Dataset Information

Control of Staphylococcus aureus in dairy herds in a region with raw milk cheese production: farmers' attitudes, knowledge, behaviour and belief in self-efficacy.

Publications

Control of Staphylococcus aureus in dairy herds in a region with raw milk cheese production: farmers' attitudes, knowledge, behaviour and belief in self-efficacy.

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