Detection of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae in Pasteurella-vaccinated sheep flocks with respiratory disease in England
Detection of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae in Pasteurella-vaccinated sheep flocks with respiratory disease in England
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DOI:
10.1136/vr.153.22.687
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发表时间:
2003-11-29
影响因子:
2.2
通讯作者:
Nicholas, RAJ
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
McAuliffe, L;Hatchell, FM;Nicholas, RAJ
SHEEP and goats suffer from a number of serious diseases caused by Mycoplasma species in mainland Europe, in par-ticular contagious agalactia and pleuropneumonias, which lead to significant economic losses as a result of decreases in milk production, morbidity and, occasionally, mortality (Nicholas 2002). In contrast, only two Mycoplasma species have been shown to cause disease in small ruminants in Britain. They are Mycoplasma conjunctivae, which causes a serious but self-limiting keratoconjunctivitis (Baker and oth-ers 2001), and Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae, the cause of a non-progressive (atypical) pneumonia (Gilmour and others 1979). It is difficult to gauge the importance of pneumonias caused by M ovipneumoniae in Britain because few laboratories routinely monitor for this mycoplasma. However, there are some indications that it may be significant in a growing number of outbreaks of respiratory disease in sheep. Further-more, Mannheimia haemolytica is considered to be the major pathogenic bacteriumin sheep and, generally, little further diagnosis is carried out once it has been isolated. This short communication describes the detection of M ovipneumoniae in English sheep and goat flocks with respiratory disease, which had been vaccinated with Pasteurella. During 2002, sheep and goats from a number of pneu-monic flocks, many containing ewes with persistent coughing, were examined for the presence of mycoplasmas. The flocks selected had signs of respiratory disease despite vaccination with a combined clostridial/Pasteurella vaccine (Heptavac-P Plus; Intervet). For comparison, a smaller num-ber of lambs in clinically healthy flocks of the same size and management type were also examined (Table 1). In addition,