In search of the cause of mastitis

Although Nocard and Mollereau had demonstrated in 1884 that cocci could be held responsible for mastitis, the nature of the real cause of the disease troubled many for a long time after.

Here is a report, published in 1892 in the Receuil de Médécine Vétérinaire (vol 69 p.494-495)

by a veterinarian, J.Joquan, from Vitré, who thought that he had made a step forward in the knowledge of the cause of mastitis. This text has been published recently in Dutch in Argos, 49, 2013, 324.

“Sur une cause probable de la mammite infectieuse de la vache.”

“About a year ago I was consulted for a case of mastitis of a cow in the municipality of Vitré. Following a painful swelling the udder of this cow had returned to approximately the normal volume, but she kept giving small quantities of milk that was putrid, watery and unfit for consumption. In vain I looked for the cause of this change and I decided to give the following advice, that did not satisfy me at all: ‘The cow is too fat, she should see the butcher and another one should be bought.’ This was done accordingly. After four or five months the new cow was affected in exactly the same way as the first, but this cow lacked the fat condition, and did therefore not allow me to bring this in association with an unfortunate mastitis.This forced me to go deeper into the case and to look elsewhere for the starting-point of the infection of these two cows. After a tour through the stables, a little bit of searching and asking some questions of the cattle-maid I found out  […] that the bedding of the stables had been taken from the straw-mattresses, used by the numerous and various boarders. Probably my enemies must be found here. Therefore I made them give up the use of this straw and made it replaced by more natural bedding, namely fresh straw that had not served anyone. I treated the cow: she recovered.

I should not have published this notice if I had not been supported by the next, third fact; some time ago I was called to a small farm close to town to treat a mastitis of the same nature as the preceding ones. I did not fail to ask of the bedding: that had its origin in the purchase of straw, made by the infantry regiment of the garrison of Vitré, and it had served too for straw-mattresses for the military men. I don’t want to comment on it.

[…]

Until now I have accused all kinds of more or less vague causes, which are known and have been described as coincidental causes. Now I think I can blame one, if not a general, then at least a frequent, cause of this disease: the infectious nature of bedding that has served as the fillings of straw-mattresses.”

It is noteworthy to read how cautious Joquan has formulated the general discussion at the end: it is the infectious nature of the straw, used in the mattresses, that has to be blamed.