BLNK and mastitis: In this study, the bca gene, encoding αC protein, was found in 8.8% of the isolates, whereas other studies have reported it in 3.4% (3), 36% (26), 64.7% (24), and 78.9% (35) of S. agalactiae isolates derived from milk of cows with clinical or subclinical mastitis, and in 37% (28) and 49.3% of isolates from cows with clinical mastitis (32).