1. In addition to streptococci and coagulasepositive staphylococci, lactosefermenting staphylococci were detected from the udders of cows as constantly hardored organisms. The older a cow, the more udders harboring these three types of organisms she was found to have.
2. Cells in the udder increased in number when these three types of organisms were harbored. A more remarkable increase in cells occurred in the presence of lactose-fermenting staphylococci without any ability of fermenting mannitol and gelatin than in the presence of those with such ability.
3. The average values of the viable bacterial count of 1 ml of the first and last portions of milk collected from one cow at the same time of milking were 19, 000 and 11, 000, respectively, in the case of mastitis milk, 10, 000 and 4, 400 in the case of abnormal milk, and 2, 200 and 1, 500 in the case of normal milk.
4. It may be concluded that normal milk shows a viable bacterial count of not more than 1, 000 and a cell count of 100, 000 or less.
5. Phage typing disclosed that all the isolated strains of coagulase-positive staphylococci belonged to group III and had a bacteriolytic area at 42E, 6, 7, 73, 47, 54, and 75. This result indicates that there was only one source of contamination, and makes it possible to assume that those staphylococci may have invaded the udder through the milker's hand and the cow's teat.
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