[Epidemiology, pathogenesis, treatment and prevention of bovine acute Escherichia coli mastitis, a literature review].

Comparisons of the rate of incidence of clinical mastitis caused by E. coli during the last 40 years demonstrate the increasing significance of this disease for modern milk production. Because of the acute nature of this disease it was not possible until now to establish by documentary evidence a spontaneous case from the beginning on--and thereby to give certain evidence to the pathogenesis. Nevertheless a multitude of reports about experimentally caused mastitis or observations of solitary aspects of this disease exists, which allow us to assume that pathogenesis of coliform mastitis as an environmental mastitis and contagious mastitis are basically distinguishable. The manyfold factors which provoke the formation of coliform infections pave the way for methods to reduce the rate of coliform mastitis--incidence by the preventive measures and show how to optimize the results of therapy by beginning earlier and including the whole organism into the concept of therapy.