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Biofilms and Role to Infection and Disease in Veterinary Medicine

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Biofilms and Veterinary Medicine

Part of the book series: Springer Series on Biofilms ((BIOFILMS,volume 6))

Abstract

Biofilms play an increasing role within the medical and veterinary community. Due to the increased resistance of a biofilm, they can have direct and indirect effects upon a range of infections and diseases including chronic non-healing wounds, implant/prosthesis infection and mastitis. These problems can have significant effects on other industries, for example mastitis can have a detrimental effect on milk yield in the dairy industry. The degree of severity biofilms can cause increases the pressure on the veterinary industry to diagnose and treat infections and diseases quicker and with more effective results. With maturity, biofilms may become more resistant to the effects of antimicrobials which make the infection harder to treat. As elaborated on in previous chapters, many antibiotherapy treatments currently used to treat bacterial infections are aimed at planktonic bacterial cells as opposed to cells encased in a biofilm; this makes their treatment increasingly problematic. Without adequate diagnostic and treatment protocols to treat veterinary biofilms, their impact will remain a significant challenge.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Ceredigion, SY23 3AL, UK

    Alice J. Gardner

  2. Department of Pathology, Medical School, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

    Steven L. Percival

  3. Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK

    Christine A. Cochrane

Authors
  1. Alice J. Gardner
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  2. Steven L. Percival
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  3. Christine A. Cochrane
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Correspondence to Christine A. Cochrane .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Castle Hill 6, Chester, Cheshire, CH4 9EY, United Kingdom

    Steven Percival

  2. School of Veterinary Science, Equine Hospital, Leahurst, University of Liverpool, Chester High Road, Neston, CH64 7TE, United Kingdom

    Derek Knottenbelt

  3. School of Veterinary Science, Equine Hospital, Leahurst, University of Liverpool, Chester High Road, Neston, CH64 7TE, United Kingdom

    Christine Cochrane

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Gardner, A.J., Percival, S.L., Cochrane, C.A. (2011). Biofilms and Role to Infection and Disease in Veterinary Medicine. In: Percival, S., Knottenbelt, D., Cochrane, C. (eds) Biofilms and Veterinary Medicine. Springer Series on Biofilms, vol 6. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21289-5_4

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