District-wide herd sanitation and eradication of intramammary Staphylococcus aureus genotype B infection in dairy herds in Ticino, Switzerland.

The present study demonstrates successful herd sanitation and eradication of contagious mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus genotype B (GTB) in an entire Swiss district (Ticino) including 3,364 dairy cows from 168 farms. Herd sanitation included testing of all cows using a highly GTB-specific and sensitive real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay, implementation of related on-farm measures, appropriate antibiotic therapy of GTB-positive cows, and culling of therapy-resistant animals, respectively. A treatment index was used as an objective criterion to select GTB-positive cows eligible for culling and replacement payment.

Elucidation of the Bovine Intramammary Bacteriome and Resistome from healthy cows of Swiss dairy farms in the Canton Tessin.

Healthy, untreated cows of nine dairy herds from the Swiss Canton Tessin were analyzed three times within one year to identify the most abundant species of the intramammary bacteriome. Aseptically collected milk samples were cultured and bacteria identified using MALDI-TOF. Of 256 cows analyzed, 96% were bacteriologically positive and 80% of the 1,024 quarters were positive for at least one bacterial species.

[Intramammary use of antibiotics in dairy farms in the canton of Ticino before, during and after Staphylococcus aureus genotype B elimination].

The aim of the study was to evaluate the use of intramammary antibiotics before, during and after the elimination of Staphylococcus aureus genotype B (SAGTB). Data on intramammary antibiotic use was collected in 65 dairy farms as part of a pilot project for SAGTB elimination in the canton of Ticino from 2017 to 2019. The investigated farms were divided into 46 affected farms (with at least one SAGTB-positive animal) and 19 control farms (SAGTB-free farms).