Mastitis is the single most costly disease of dairy cattle resulting in the reduction of milk yield and quality. The inflammation of the utter is mainly caused by bacteria, and Staphylococcus aureus is often considered the most common cause of contagious mastitis in dairy herds. S. aureus infection is estimated to be present in up to 90% of dairy farms and is responsible for 35% of the economic loss in the dairy industry (Lee et al., 2005). S. aureus is a facultatively anaerobic, Gram positive bacterium. The majority of S. aureus strains are catalase-positive and coagulasepositive, which forms the basis of traditional identification methodology.

For research use only and NOT intended for in vitro diagnostics.