[Resistance situation and enterotoxin production capacity of Staphylococcus aureus strains from bovine mastitis milk samples]. / Resistenzsituation und Enterotoxinbildungsfähigkeit von Staphylococcus aureus Stämmen aus bovinen Mastitismilchproben.

In total, 63 S. aureus strains from mastitis milk samples of different animals in 57 farms were isolated. In 14 (22%) of the S. aureus strains resistancies against one or several of the examined antibiotics could be observed whereby six resistance patterns were found. 14.3% of the strains were penicillin resistant. 34 (54%) of the 63 S. aureus produced enterotoxins (SE). Three strains formed SEA, 21 SEC, three SED and seven strains 2 SE, SEAC, SEAD or SEBD.

Reliability and practicability of bacteriological monitoring of beef carcass contamination and their rating within a hygiene quality control programme of abattoirs.

A total of 9600 swab samples from 900 carcasses originating from ten different abattoirs were subjected to bacteriological examination. Two sampling sites, brisket and forearm, consistently showed the highest contamination rates. The following sites are recommended for sampling: on the lateral side of the carcass neck, forearm, shoulder, brisket and abdomen. The neck is recommended for the medial side. Compared to the large variance of contamination either on individual carcasses or between different carcasses, the differences in the variance of results between double swab and incision sampling techniques should be of minor importance. Considering this big variance of colony counts, it is suggested to take five to six swab samples from each of at least ten to 15 carcasses once a month. With a view to a more differentiated and evident evaluation the results should be recorded in a 'box plots' and not in the form of mean values and standard deviations. The data confirms bacteriological monitoring of beef carcasses as a useful tool for the verification of slaughter hygiene.

Isolation of serovar-specific leptospiral antigens for use in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) compared with the microscopic agglutination test and immunofluorescence.

A total of 10 different detergents were used with the intention of extracting serovar-specific antigens from eight leptospiral serovars for use in an ELISA. Extractions with 2% sodium taurocholate at 50 degrees C proved to be best suited for this purpose. Taurocholate extracted antigens could be separated in SDS-PAGE and antigenic activities demonstrated in immunoblotting. In comparative studies on sera taken from cattle, pigs, horses and dogs, the self-made ELISA proved to be more sensitive than the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and the immunofluorescence test (IFT). The IFT gave different results from those obtained using MAT or ELISA.