The Bacteriology of Summer Mastitis

Abstract

The paper reviews the bacteriology of summer mastitis in cattle. Recent bacteriological investigations of summer mastitis secretions have proved that summer mastitis is to be regarded as a complex polybacterial disease, with Corynebacterium pyogenes, Peptococcus indolicus, a non-classified microaerophilic coccus (Stuart-Schwan coccus), Fusobacterium necrophorum, Bacteroides melaninogenicus, and Streptococcus dysgalactiae as the most frequently isolated organisms. A brief outline of each of these bacterial species is presented, and their pathogenic potential discussed. The possible reservoirs of summer mastitis bacteria are listed, and finally the limited knowledge of synergistic bacterial interactions in the pathogenesis of summer mastitis is presented.