Immunodiagnostic Identification of Dairy Cows Infected with Prototheca zopfii at Various Clinical Stages and Discrimination between Infected and Uninfected Cows

Immunodiagnostic identification of dairy cows infected with Prototheca zopfii at various clinical stages and discrimination between infected and uninfected cows.

Protothecosis is a severe form of mastitis in cattle that is caused by colorless algae of the genus Prototheca. So far, no suitable serological test for the identification of infected animals is available for routine diagnosis. In this study an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the identification of infected cows and for discriminating among infected cows at various clinica...

Prototheca zopfii mastitis in a herd of dairy cows.

Mastitis caused by the colourless alga Prototheca zopfii was diagnosed in 17 of 120 cows in a dairy herd. Infection occurred in animals varying from 3-14 years old and was present in one to four quarters of each cow. Nine cases were associated with clinical mastitis characterised by the presence in milk of flakes or small clots. Somatic cell counts consistent with subclinical mastitis (>500 x 1...

Prototheca Mastitis in Dairy Cows

Longitudinal analysis of Prototheca zopfii-specific immune responses: correlation with disease progression and carriage in dairy cows.

In order to characterize the humoral and cellular immune responses to bovine mammary protothecosis, serum and whey samples obtained from 72 dairy cows assigned to four different clinical stages of infection were examined for specific antibodies by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay techniques. Milk samples were analyzed for the total numbers of excreted algal cells and somatic cells. Af...

Susceptibility of Prototheca zopfii strains isolated from cows with mastitis to chlorhexidine and iodine

* Correspondence: [email protected] Protothecosis is an infection reported in humans and in many other animal species caused by achlorophyllous algae of the genus Prototheca. These algae are primitive unicellular organisms considered to be chlorophylllacking mutants that have adopted a heterotrophic mode of nutrition. These organisms are widely disseminated in different environments...