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Molecular characterisation and epidemiology of Streptococcus uberis, isolated in a longitudinal study from the milk of a large commercial South African dairy herd

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2026

Grant Kevin van Lelyveld ,
Inge-Marié Petzer ,
Christiaan Labuschagne  and
Joanne Karzis Open the ORCID record for Joanne Karzis [Opens in a new window]
Grant Kevin van Lelyveld
Affiliation:
Department of Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa
Inge-Marié Petzer
Affiliation:
Department of Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa
Christiaan Labuschagne
Affiliation:
Inqaba Biotechnical Industries (Pty) Ltd, Hatfield, South Africa
Joanne Karzis*
Affiliation:
Department of Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa
*
Corresponding author: Joanne Karzis; Email: joanne.karzis@up.ac.za
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Abstract

Streptococcus uberis is currently the most notable emerging mastitis pathogen in South Africa. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to investigate the sequence types (STs) of S. uberis isolated from bovine milk and their epidemiological patterns of occurrence. This retrospective, longitudinal study was conducted on a pasture-based herd of 1005 lactating cows, on which slurry-spreading had been recently introduced. Composite cow milk samples were collected quarterly during routine whole herd sampling and from clinical mastitis cases (monthly) during 2021. Streptococcus uberis isolates obtained from two routine samplings and clinical mastitis cases were stored at −80°C. In 2024, seven S. uberis isolates were added; these were from the same cows in consecutive samplings. The prevalence of S. uberis intramammary infection (IMI) was 7.44%, while 21.26% of clinical mastitis cases were caused by S. uberis. Based on conventional microbiology, 31.4% of S. uberis IMIs were recurring in consecutive samplings. A total of 42 S. uberis STs were identified from 70 isolates; 41 were novel and only 1 (ST 1613) had been previously reported in the PubMLST/GenBank database. Of the S. uberis isolates examined, 35.7% had known clonal complexes (CCs); of these, 60% were CC ST-5. Owing to the high heterogeneity, no predominant STs were observed; ST 1613 was isolated six times but did not cause clinical cases. When S. uberis was isolated from a cow more than once, only 50% of the isolates had similar STs. Where cows had multiple infections in an udder, quarters infected had different STs. In summary, this herd showed significant heterogeneity in S. uberis, with all but one ST being novel variants. Results indicate that S. uberis IMI in this herd was transient, possibly of environmental origin rather than persistent udder infections, making a point-source of infection less likely.

Keywords

bovine mastitisepidemiologymultilocus sequence typingnovel variantsStreptococcus uberis

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Dairy Research , First View , pp. 1 - 8
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Hannah Dairy Research Foundation.

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