Molecular typing of Staphylococcus aureus of bovine origin by polymorphisms of the coagulase gene.

Mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus is a disease of major economic importance to the dairy industry. Transmission occurs during milking, with chronically-infected cows acting as the major reservoirs of infection. PCR-coagulase gene typing of 151 S. aureus isolates from seven farms generated only six PCR types, with 110 (73%) isolates assigned to PCR type 1 and 23 (15.2%) isolates assigned to type 2. PCR type 1 was the predominant type on five of the seven farms, including farms in geographically separated regions of Victoria, while type 2 predominated on two farms. With the exception of the 41 isolates from one farm, all isolates were resistant to penicillin, but susceptible to other antibiotics that are routinely used to manage mastitis in dairy cattle. Nine of 11 cows with chronic S. aureus infection showed evidence of persistence of a single PCR type for periods of up to 9 months. Two different PCR types of S. aureus were isolated from the other two cows over the same period.