Sources ofStreptococcus uberisin the dairy herd: I. Isolation from bovine faces and from straw bedding of cattle

SUMMARY During an outbreak of mastitis due to Streptococcus uberis the organism was frequently isolated from samples of straw bedding used by the cattle. More than one million Str. uberis /g straw were isolated from 36% of samples. The organism was also recovered from 34% of samples of bovine faeces, but usually in low numbers. An examination of straw samples collected from cattle yards on 32 other dairy farms demonstrated that this was not an isolated occurrence since Str. uberis was found in 24% of samples from 56% of the herds. No correlation was found between counts of Str. uberis and coliforms. The significance of these observations is discussed.