Contagious mastitis control program: The Staphylococcus aureus case

Staphylococcus aureus, is the most frequently isolated contagious pathogen in subclinical and chronic bovine mastitis worldwide. The disease has a large economic impact on dairy herds and this supports the development of control programs. Moreover, the availability of accurate diagnostic procedures and efficacious therapeutical protocols allow the implementation of a control program. When it is based on few important points such as the isolation or removal of reservoirs, the isolation or removal of fomites, and careful monitoring by a trained practitioner the success rate will be very high with positive economic returns for both the farmer and the practitioner.