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Increasing Prevalence of Mycoplasma bovis in Danish Cattle

Tiltagende prævalens af Mycoplasma bovis hos kvæg i Danmark

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica volume 41, pages 139–146 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

A study on the prevalence of mycoplasmas in pneumonic bovine lungs was performed on material submitted for diagnostic purposes at the Danish Veterinary Laboratory, Copenhagen. Among the 50 examined cases 43 (86.0%) were found to be infected with mycoplasmas. The predominant mycoplasmas were Ureaplasma spp. (72.0%), M. dispar (48.0%) and M. bovis (24.0%). Other mycoplasmas were M. bovirhinis (20.0%) and M. bovigenitalium (6.0%). Among the infected lungs multiple species infections were predominant (76.7%) over single species infections (23.3%) with M. dispar-Ureaplasma (25.6%), M. bovis-Ureaplasma (18.6%) and M. dispar-M. bovirhinis-Ureaplasma (11.6%) infections being the most frequently encountered combinations. There appears to be an increasing prevalence of M. bovis (24.0%)) as compared to earlier reports (0.6–2.0%), thus calling for special attention upon this mycoplasma. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis of 11 field isolates of M. bovis from 9 different farms revealed different profiles except for 2 isolates which were recovered from the same farm. Because mycoplasmas belonging to the ‘M. mycoides cluster’ were not encountered during this study; it appears that the Danish cattle population is still free from this group of mycoplasma in spite of their presence in some other European countries.

Sammendrag

En undersøgelse over prævalensen af mykoplasmer i pneumoniske kvæglunger blev foretaget på rutinediagnostisk materiale fremsendt til Statens Veterinære Serumlaboratorium, København. Mykoplasmer blev fundet i 43 (86.0%) ud af 50 undersøgte lunger. Hyppigst forekommende art var Ureaplasma spp. (72.0%) og derefter M. dispar (48.0%), og M. bovis (24.0%); andre arter var M. bovirhinis (20.0%) og M. bovigenitalium (6.0%). Samtidig forekomst af flere arter fandtes i 76.7% af de inficerede lunger med monoinfektion i 23.3%. Den hyppigste kombination var M. dispar-Ureaplasma (25.6%), herefter M. bovis-Ureaplasma (18.6%) og M. dispar-M. bovirhinis-Ureaplasma (11.6%). En forekomst af M. bovis på 24.0%) viser en tydelig højere prævalens sammenholdt med tidligere undersøgelser på 0.6–2.0%, og påkalder sig derfor ekstra opmærksomhed. Pulsed field gel elektrophoresis (PFGE) af 11 friske isolater af M. bovis fra 9 forskellige besætninger viste, at alle besad forskellige profiler på nær hos 2 isolater fra samme ejendom. Mykoplasmer af gruppen “M. mycoides cluster”, årsagen til oksens ondartede lungesyge og relaterede lidelser hos andre drøvtyggere, blev ikke påvist i nærværende undersøgelse. Derfor kan man konkludere, at Danmark stadig er fri for disse infektioner på trods af deres forekomst i visse andre europæiske lande.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Microbiology, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Stigbøjlen 4, DK-1870, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    L. J. M. Kusiluka & B. Ojeniyi

  2. Danish Veterinary Laboratory, Copenhagen, Denmark

    N. F. Friis

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  1. L. J. M. Kusiluka
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  2. B. Ojeniyi
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  3. N. F. Friis
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Correspondence to L. J. M. Kusiluka.

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Kusiluka, L.J.M., Ojeniyi, B. & Friis, N.F. Increasing Prevalence of Mycoplasma bovis in Danish Cattle. Acta Vet Scand 41, 139–146 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03549645

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Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica

ISSN: 1751-0147