• 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 39  (12) , 1907-1910
Abstract
Marked variation existed among cows in the ability of milk to support phagocytosis and in the ability of polymorphonuclear leukocytes isolated from their milk to phagocytize S. aureus. Milk samples that supported a low degree of phagocytosis were generally obtained from cows that had a greater occurrence of clinical mastitis/lactation (r [coefficient correlation] = 0.41). Variation in the phagocytic defense mechanism of the bovine mammary gland could contribute to the difference in susceptibility to infection by mastitis pathogens.