Antibiotic resistance of Streptococcus agalactiae from cows with mastitis.

The aim of this study was to characterise the phenotypic and genotypic antibiotic resistance patterns of Streptococcus agalactiae isolated from cows with mastitis in China. Antibiotic resistance was based on minimum inhibitory concentrations and detection of resistance genes by PCR. S. agalactiae isolates most frequently exhibited phenotypic resistance to tetracycline, while the resistance genes most frequently detected were ermB, tetL and tetM. Resistance genes were detected in some susceptible isolates, whereas no resistance genes could be detected in some resistant isolates, indicating that the resistance genotype does not accurately predict phenotypic resistance.

Characterization of Prototheca zopfii associated with outbreak of bovine clinical mastitis in herd of Beijing, China.

Prototheca zopfii (P. zopfii) has become an important cause of bovine mastitis in many countries. In the present study, to better understand the occurrence of one clinical mastitis (CM) outbreak due to P. zopfii, the molecular characterization and resistance patterns of the microalga were described. P. zopfii strains were isolated from 17 of 23 quarters, which suffered CM in the outbreak, and 7 of 46 CM recovered quarters before the outbreak, as well as 2 of 75 environmental samples in the dairy farm. All strains were identified as genotype 2 by genotype-specific PCR analysis. Results of in vitro antimicrobial and antifungal susceptibility tests indicated that these strains were resistant to majority of tested drugs, with the only exception of amphotericin B, nystatin, streptomycin, gentamicin, and amikacin. This is the first report about CM outbreak caused by P. zopfii in China. These data suggest that P. zopfii may represent a serious risk in the studied herd, and this microalga could be an important potential pathogen causing mastitis in dairy herds of Beijing.