Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Innovative Elastomers with Antimicrobial Activity to Decrease Infection Risks during Milking

Gabriele Meroni
ORCID logo ,
Valerio Massimo Sora
ORCID logo ,
Francesca Zaghen
ORCID logo ,
Giulia Laterza
ORCID logo ,
Piera Anna Martino
ORCID logo ,
Alfonso Zecconi
* ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 30 October 2023 / Approved: 30 October 2023 / Online: 30 October 2023 (09:59:40 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Meroni, G.; Sora, V.; Zaghen, F.; Laterza, G.; Martino, P.A.; Zecconi, A. Innovative Elastomers with Antimicrobial Activity May Decrease Infection Risks during Milking. Pathogens 2023, 12, 1431. Meroni, G.; Sora, V.; Zaghen, F.; Laterza, G.; Martino, P.A.; Zecconi, A. Innovative Elastomers with Antimicrobial Activity May Decrease Infection Risks during Milking. Pathogens 2023, 12, 1431.

Abstract

Contagious pathogens have very high costs for dairy herds, and they may have zoonotic and reverse-zoonotic potentials, and may contribute in spreading 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 for avoiding the transmission of infection out of the segregation of infected cows. Recently, the availability of elastomers including patented antimicrobial components in their formulations has opened the way to explore alternative methods to decrease infection risk. Two different types of elastomers (rubber and silicon) and 9 different receipts were challenged by three major mastitis pathogens (S. aureus, S. agalactiae, and E. coli). The results showed interesting and unexpected results. Indeed, for the first time to our knowledge, we have shown that basic rubber materials have intrinsic antimicrobial activity. Silicon elastomers did not exhibit the same levels of killing activity, although they did exhibit some antibacterial capacity. Generally, a significant decrease in bacterial survival curves was observed with the tested formulations. The results observed for the various products are likely due to the specific activity of the chemical components, as well as the diverse chemical reactions that occur during their production. The availability of new tools able to reduce the risks for the spread of infections and generally decrease the bacterial load at milking, would be an important step forward to achieve a higher global sustainability of dairy production from a One Health perspective.

Keywords

One Health; mastitis; antimicrobial resistance; elastomers; milking; liners

Subject

Public Health and Healthcare, Other

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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