Long-term persistence of specific genetic types of mastitis-causing Staphylococcus aureus on three dairies

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) after SmaI digestion was used to investigate the persistence of specific genotypes of bovine mammary gland isolates of Staphylococcus aureus on 3 dairy herds. A total of 341 isolates of Staph. aureus were available from cows in 3 herds, collected over a period of 15 yr. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis band patterns of Staph. aureus isolates were analyzed visually and with gel analysis and comparison software. Based on this analysis, isolates were classified by PFGE type. Persistence was determined as the time period from the first to the last isolation of a particular PFGE type of Staph. aureus within a herd. Specific types of mastitis-causing Staph. aureus persisted long-term on these dairies. For example, PFGE type 3 isolates persisted on farms A, B, and C for 15, 15, and 13 yr, respectively. Type 6 was found to persist for 13 yr on farm C. Despite the application of standard mastitis control practices, mastitis-causing Staph. aureus types appeared to persist long-term, as detected by PFGE, and were isolated coincident with herd problems of increased milk somatic cell counts and decreased milk production.