Development of Mastitis in a Mouse Infection Model from Four Bovine Isolates

A Nutrigenomics Study

Abstract

The goal of this study was to evaluate the ability of a commercially-available feed supplement (OmniGen-AF) to reduce development of mastitis in a mouse mastitis model. The rationale for completing this study was two-fold. First, dairy producers have reported that OmniGen-AF reduced somatic cell counts and reduced mastitis after the introduction of the product into herds. Second, recent studies have shown that the product increased markers of both innate and adaptive immunity. Our hypothesis, therefore, was that feeding the product would reduce the development and severity of mastitis in a mouse model. To assess this hypothesis, five experiments were completed with three bovine mastitis isolates. The isolates included Streptococcus uberis (S. uberis), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus).