Innovative Elastomers with Antimicrobial Activity May Decrease Infection Risks during Milking
Contagious pathogens are very costly to dairy herds, and they may have zoonotic and reverse-zoonotic potentials and may contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance. One of the most important risk factors for spreading these infections is milking, when liner contamination may transfer the pa...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Pathogens |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/12/1431 |
| _version_ | 1797379687546093568 |
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| author | Gabriele Meroni Valerio Sora Francesca Zaghen Giulia Laterza Piera Anna Martino Alfonso Zecconi |
| author_facet | Gabriele Meroni Valerio Sora Francesca Zaghen Giulia Laterza Piera Anna Martino Alfonso Zecconi |
| author_sort | Gabriele Meroni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Contagious pathogens are very costly to dairy herds, and they may have zoonotic and reverse-zoonotic potentials and may contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance. One of the most important risk factors for spreading these infections is milking, when liner contamination may transfer the pathogens from infected to healthy cows. There is no effective protocol to prevent the transmission of infection without the segregation of infected cows. Recently, the availability of elastomers with patented antimicrobial components in their formulations has allowed the exploration of alternative methods to reduce the risk of infection. Two different types of elastomers (rubber and silicone) and nine different formulations were challenged with three major mastitis pathogens (<i>S. aureus</i>, <i>S. agalactiae</i>, and <i>E. coli</i>). The results that were obtained in this study were interesting and unexpected. Indeed, to our knowledge, this is the first study to show that basic rubber materials have intrinsic antimicrobial activity. Silicone elastomers did not exhibit the same levels of bactericidal activity, although they did exhibit some antibacterial capacity. A significant decrease in bacterial survival curves was observed for all the formulations tested when antimicrobial components were added. The different results observed for the various products are likely due to the different formulations and diverse manufacturing processes. The availability of these new materials that significantly reduce the bacterial load on the liner surface may reduce the risk of spreading intramammary infections during milking. This would be an important step forward in achieving global sustainability of dairy herds, consistent with the objectives of One Health, by reducing the risks of zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial treatments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:27:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-07a937d106614706aa707439f31f1bd8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:27:38Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-07a937d106614706aa707439f31f1bd82023-12-22T14:30:57ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172023-12-011212143110.3390/pathogens12121431Innovative Elastomers with Antimicrobial Activity May Decrease Infection Risks during MilkingGabriele Meroni0Valerio Sora1Francesca Zaghen2Giulia Laterza3Piera Anna Martino4Alfonso Zecconi5Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences-One Health Unit, School of Medicine, University of Milan, Via Pascal 36, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences-One Health Unit, School of Medicine, University of Milan, Via Pascal 36, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences-One Health Unit, School of Medicine, University of Milan, Via Pascal 36, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences-One Health Unit, School of Medicine, University of Milan, Via Pascal 36, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences-One Health Unit, School of Medicine, University of Milan, Via Pascal 36, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences-One Health Unit, School of Medicine, University of Milan, Via Pascal 36, 20133 Milan, ItalyContagious pathogens are very costly to dairy herds, and they may have zoonotic and reverse-zoonotic potentials and may contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance. One of the most important risk factors for spreading these infections is milking, when liner contamination may transfer the pathogens from infected to healthy cows. There is no effective protocol to prevent the transmission of infection without the segregation of infected cows. Recently, the availability of elastomers with patented antimicrobial components in their formulations has allowed the exploration of alternative methods to reduce the risk of infection. Two different types of elastomers (rubber and silicone) and nine different formulations were challenged with three major mastitis pathogens (<i>S. aureus</i>, <i>S. agalactiae</i>, and <i>E. coli</i>). The results that were obtained in this study were interesting and unexpected. Indeed, to our knowledge, this is the first study to show that basic rubber materials have intrinsic antimicrobial activity. Silicone elastomers did not exhibit the same levels of bactericidal activity, although they did exhibit some antibacterial capacity. A significant decrease in bacterial survival curves was observed for all the formulations tested when antimicrobial components were added. The different results observed for the various products are likely due to the different formulations and diverse manufacturing processes. The availability of these new materials that significantly reduce the bacterial load on the liner surface may reduce the risk of spreading intramammary infections during milking. This would be an important step forward in achieving global sustainability of dairy herds, consistent with the objectives of One Health, by reducing the risks of zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial treatments.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/12/1431One Healthmastitisantimicrobial resistanceelastomersmilkingliners |
| spellingShingle | Gabriele Meroni Valerio Sora Francesca Zaghen Giulia Laterza Piera Anna Martino Alfonso Zecconi Innovative Elastomers with Antimicrobial Activity May Decrease Infection Risks during Milking Pathogens One Health mastitis antimicrobial resistance elastomers milking liners |
| title | Innovative Elastomers with Antimicrobial Activity May Decrease Infection Risks during Milking |
| title_full | Innovative Elastomers with Antimicrobial Activity May Decrease Infection Risks during Milking |
| title_fullStr | Innovative Elastomers with Antimicrobial Activity May Decrease Infection Risks during Milking |
| title_full_unstemmed | Innovative Elastomers with Antimicrobial Activity May Decrease Infection Risks during Milking |
| title_short | Innovative Elastomers with Antimicrobial Activity May Decrease Infection Risks during Milking |
| title_sort | innovative elastomers with antimicrobial activity may decrease infection risks during milking |
| topic | One Health mastitis antimicrobial resistance elastomers milking liners |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/12/1431 |
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