Several species of Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma diversum can cause diseases in dairy cattle, which can be associated or not with clinical manifestations. In our country, the presence of Mycoplasma bovis, Mycoplasma californicum and Mycoplasma canadense has been detected, being the only mycoplasma species identified so far. The objective of this study was to identify other species of the Mycoplasmataceae family. Thirty-five Mycoplasma spp.-like isolates obtained from different samples from cattle, with or without clinical symptoms, from eight herds located in the provinces of Santa Fe, Cordoba, Buenos Aires and San Luis were utilized in the present study. Through the use of species-specific polymerase chain reactions (PCR) Mycoplasma bovigenitalium, Mycoplasma alkalescens, Mycoplasma bovirhinis and U. diversum were identified and through amplification and further sequencing of the 16-23S rRNA intergenic spacer regions, Mycoplasma arginine and M. californicum were identified. The identification of these species represents an important advance in knowledge in order to include these pathogens in the differential diagnosis of certain clinical and pathological entities of cattle from Argentina.
The objective of this short communication was to discuss two field case investigations to determine the usefulness of a milk‐line sampling device to detect bacteria either coming from a group of cows suffering from mastitis or from the milking line potentially contaminated with environmental bacteria. In Case 1, the in‐line sampling device was able to detect certain segments of the milk‐line contaminated with environmental bacteria, but not coming from the cows. In Case 2, 19 out of 25 pooled in‐line samples were in agreement with at least one of the individual sampled cows shedding either Staphylococcus or Streptococcus spp. or both, which accounted for 76% accordance between both methods. The in‐line system, although not perfect, provided a reliable method to detect individual cows shedding mastitis‐causing organisms. In conclusion, the milk‐line sampling device system was able to help identify foodborne pathogens. Regular monitoring of the microbial quality of milk through a milk‐line sampling device is recommended for groups of cows within the dairy herd to detect potential mastitis‐causing microorganisms. Furthermore, the sampling device was an effective tool to screen the efficacy of cleaning and disinfecting mechanisms of the milk lines to identify and control potential foodborne pathogens that are collected in the bulk tank.
BackgroundThis investigation was carried out to gain more insight about the preference of veterinarians on the implementation of an udder health programme (UHP) in a dairy farm.MethodsA choice experiment was designed to elicit the preferences of the participants. The study population consisted of 36 veterinarians from Argentina specialised on milk quality. The choice experiment offered several UHPs, which were combinations of some of the interventions included in the so-called five-point plan. To reduce bias among the participants, the UHPs offered were unlabelled and considered two farm contexts: one was on a pasture system and the other was on a dry-lot with pasture access system. The basic criteria (the so-called attribute) to describe veterinarians’ preferences for each UHP proposed were efficacy on clinical mastitis (CM) and bulk milk somatic cell count (BMSCC) reduction, cost and technical support. The data collected were analysed using conjoint analysis.ResultsUHP cost and UHP efficacy on BMSCC and CM had a significant influence on veterinarians’ ranking decisions under both dairy production contexts. The efficacy on CM was the most important attribute to prefer a particular UHP, while technical assistance was the least important attribute considered. The attributes related to efficacy on both BMSCC and CM explained over 60 per cent of the total importance of all attributes.ConclusionTo the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research in South America focused on studying veterinarians’ preferences to suggest a UHP. The cost and efficacy attributes were the veterinarians’ top priority attributes to decide the best UHP.
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