Review of the microbiological, pathological, and clinical aspects of bovine mastitis caused by the alga Prototheca zopfii

The mastitis caused by P. zopfii alga is a disease of high-producing, machi ne-milked dairy cows. It occurs worldwide in tropical and temperate climati c areas, and mostly appears sporadically in a therapy-resistant form. Howev er, in poorly managed dairy herds it may be endemic, causing serious econom ic losses as a result of decreased milk quality and quantity and culling of infected animals. The biological properties of this pathogenic alga, the l aboratory methods available for its isolation and identification, the patho logical and clinical features of this form of mastitis, and the principles of its control are reviewed in this paper.