#Mycoplasma bovis

[sarajcsmicasereports]

Pulmonary Mycoplasma bovis infection in necropsied cattle due to bad-sequel of Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) in Sohag Governorate, South Egypt by Ahmed M.A. ZAITOUN in Journal of Clinical Case Reports MedicaI Images and Health Sciences 

SUMMARY

During the period of investigation (Oct. 2015 to Sept. 2022), a total number of 50 cattle in different areas of Sohag Governorate, South Egypt, were necropsied due to the bad-sequel of BRD. They were unvaccinated against respiratory infection and did not respond to the therapeutic trails by fieldveterinarians. Their lungs grossly described and culturally examined for the presence of Mycoplasma infection. Grossly, the affected lungs showed multiple areas of pulmonary sequestration in 41/50 (82.00%) of the tested cases with remarkable thickening and fibrosis of the interlobular septa. Caseonecrotic bronchopneumonia with bronchiectasis and the small airways filled by yellowish caseated purulent exudate was discerned. All culturally examined lungs (50 cases) were Mycoplasma positive. The majority (90 %) of the isolated Mycoplasma strains were biochemically glucose and arginine negative with production of film and spots. The PCR—tested strains were Mycoplasma bovis infection. The obtained results are strongly denotes Mycoplasma bovis is a major persistent pneumonic pathogen of BRD in Sohag Governorate and it is concluded that vaccination program against the most common pneumogens including Mycoplasma bovis should be regularly warranted.

Introduction

BRD is one of the most common problem deterring the productive and reproductive capacities of cattle herds (Decaris et al., 2022). BRD has been reported with variability from 5 to 66% in feedlot cattle and it is the most costly beef cattle disease (Snowder, 2009). BRD is a multifactorial syndrome. Stress factors, bad management in association with various pathogens are the major factors causing BRD in cattle herds (Sayed and Zaitoun, 2009, Taylor et al., 2010, Gaeta et al., 2018, El-Seedy et al., 2020 and Hashem et al., 2022).

Etiologically, several pathogens encountered as BRD’s pathogens. Bacterial pathogens play a pivotal role in BRD (Zecchinon, and Desmecht, 2005). They emphasized that Mannheimia hemolytica and its leukotoxin suppress the defense mechanism of the infected cattle and other ruminants and induces a favorable chance for invasion of other pathogens. On the other side, Yates (1982) and Lopez (2001) corroborated that respiratory viruses particularly bovine herpes viruses and parainfluenza type3 were more prominent pathogens than bacteria in induction of BRD in bad managed herds. They added that the respiratory viruses damage the windpipe allowing bacteria enters the deep respiratory system of the infected cattle. Moreover, Fulton (2009) encountered Bovine Herpes Virus 1 (BHV1) was more prevalent pneumogenic agent rather than Bovine Virus diarrhea (BVDV) and Bovine Respiratory syncytial Virus (BRSV).

Concerning Mycoplasma infection, reviewing of the available literature reveals various types of Mycoplasma infection were encountered as a major respiratory pathogen in large and small ruminants (Zaitoun, 2001; Nicholas, 2011; Kanci et al., 2017 and Hashem et al., 2022). However, Mycoplasma bovis is frequently incriminated as an outstanding primary pathogen responsible for BRD in large ruminants (Lysnyansky and Ayling, 2016 and Mahmood et al., 2017 and Hashem et al., 2022). In spite of the bacterial pathogens of calves’ respiratory affections in certain areas of the mid and Upper Egypt were elucidated by El-Seedy et al (2020), role of Mycoplasma in BRD in south Egypt is still scanty. However, Hashem et al (2022) declared that 13.33 % of the examined diseased calves (n = 60) with respiratory manifestations in Sadat City (Menoufiya Governorate, North of Egypt) was harbor Mycoplasma infection in their nasopharyngeal regions. Their results concluded that the rate of Mycoplasma bovis (8.33%) infection was more prominent than bacterial pathogens particularly Pasteurella multocida (5%) and Staphylococcus aureus (5%). The current situation of Mycoplasma infection in cattle with signs of BRD in the southern governorates of Egypt like Sohag Governorate appears to be scanty. Consequently, screened of Mycoplasma infection particularly Mycoplasma bovis in lungs tissues of the necropsied cattle showed severe pneumonias was aimed in the current work.

Material and Methods Ethics approval:

All procedures were carried out according to the experimental standards approved by the Animal Research Ethics Committee at Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sohag University.

Animal: 

During the period of investigation (Oct. 2015 to Sept. 2022), a total number of 50 cattle in different areas of Sohag Governorate, South Egypt, were necropsied due to the bad-sequel of BRD. Based on history taking all cases were unvaccinated against respiratory infection and showed severe signs of BRD (score 3) according to Wisconsin and California scoring system (Decaris et al., 2022). Fifty cases were necropsied due bad sequel of BRD, and their lungs were grossly described and culturally examined for the presence of Mycoplasma infection.

Samples and laboratory procedures:

Tissues’ specimens of the pneumonic lungs of the necropsied cases were aseptically excised and immediately immersed in screw-capped bottles containing Mycoplasma broth culture supplemented with (growth enhancers for bovine Mycoplasmas, and bacterial inhibitors as prescribed previously by Zaitoun, 1990). The broths were incubated at 37 OC. Two days later, the incubated broths were repeatedly blindly subcultured in new broths and incubated. Three blind passages were carried out. Thereafter, the incubated broths were platted onto Mycoplasma agar medium and incubated in Gas-pack Jar with 10% co2 atmosphere for two days. Post incubation, the plats were regularly examined for one week. The characteristic colonies were picked-up and purified by further subculturing processes.

Biochemically, the purified colonies were subjected to Genus determination and biochemical characterizations (glucose fermentation, arginine deamination and Film and spots production tests) as approved by Stalheim (1990). The biochemically glucose negative and arginine negative strains with production of film and spots were molecularly identified using conventional PCR technique.

PCR technique using species-specific premiers for Mycoplasma bovis.(Table DNA extraction of the tested and control samples were carried out based on manufacturer of QIAamp® DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany, catalog no.: 511304). Forward and reserved sequences of PCR’s primer of both Mycoplasma bovis were illustrated onto Table 2. Protocol of PCR technique of the tested samples was carried out based on Kounour (2022) in The Biotechnology Unit of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sohag University, Egypt.

Results

Currently, multiple areas of pulmonary sequestration were grossly observed in the

majority of the tested cases with dramatic thickening and fibrosis of the interlobular septa, (Fig. 1: A&B). Moreover, caseonecrotic bronchopneumonia with bronchiectasis and the small airways filled by yellowish caseated purulent exudate was noticed (Fig.2).

Mycoplasma infection of the tested cases (n = 50):

The cultural and biochemical characterizations of the tested samples indicated that all tested lungs’ specimens of severely infected cattle with BRD were Mycoplasma positive and 73 strains of Mycoplasma were recovered. All strains were digitonin positive, and 67 (95.71%) strains were biochemically glucose— (G-ve) and arginine—negative (Ar-ve) with production of film and spots (FS+ve). The remained strains (n = 6) gave variable biochemical results. To minimize the cost of PCR technique, 50 (74.63%) strains of the G-ve, Ar-ve and FS+ve strains were randomly selected and PCR—tested. All PCR—tested strains was Mycoplasma bovis positive 

Table 1: Nucleotide sequences of the used PCR primers for detection of M. bovis:

Discussion

BRD is a field problematic syndrome of cattle herds with negative economic impacts due to morbidity, mortality, treatment and prevention costs, loss of production and reduced carcass value. Environmental and management factors rather than pathogens play significant roles in the prevalence of BRD. Bad hygienic measures, accumulation of fecal matter and urine beneath animals with poor ventilation lead to increase ammonia level, which has, worsen effect on animal respiratory system and considered in a holistic approach to reduce BRD (Griffin, 1997 and Tylor et al., 2010).

The necropsy findings of the currently examined cattle indicated that the all-pulmonary lobes were bluish in color particularly the apical and cranial lobes. The diaphragmatic lobes were consolidated cranioventrally and cyanosed due to hypoxic hypoxia as necrosis to lung alveoli and consequently failure of blood-oxygenation with increased carboxyhemoglobin. Cut sections in the deepest portions of the affected lungs revealed a much amount of pussy and/or caseated material. This may refers to infection with pus-producing bacterial pathogens. Similar pathological characterizations in calves’ lungs experimentally infected by Mycoplasma bovis was carried-out by Prysliak et al. (2011).

Currently, all culturally examined samples were Mycoplasma positive and the majority of isolated Mycoplasma was glucose and arginine negative with production of film and spots. This may denotes to the occurrence of Mycoplasma bovis and/or Mycoplasma bovigenitalium, which are common pathogens of bovine respiratory system (Prysliak et al., 2011and Hashem et al., 2022). Presently, Mycoplasma bovis was molecularly detected in all PCR—tested samples referring to the significant role of this pathogen. Lung clearance mechanism and function of alveolar macrophages may impaired by Mycoplasma bovis, which facilitated the way of pus-producing bacterial pathogens and others to cause multiple pathological alterations including fibrosis, increase in thickness of interlobular septa, odema and fibrosis. Asker et al (2021) concluded that Mycoplasma bovis causes various chronic inflammatory diseases, including mastitis and bronchopneumonia, in dairy and feed cattle and suppresses the host immune response during infection, leading to the development of chronic conditions. This due the capability of Mycoplasma bovis produces proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in the infected host that cause pathological alterations including inhibition of phagocytosis with immune damage (Askar et al., 2021). Moreover, Mycoplasma bovis modifies the functions of neutrophils of the infected animal to support its persistence and systemic dissemination  and causes chronic bronchopneumonia with caseous pathological alterations and characterized by persistent infection that seems poorly responsive to many antibiotics (Caswell and Archambault, 2007 and Jimbo et al., 2017). This may interprets the failure of therapeutic trials attempted by field veterinarians and may refers to the chronical persistence of that infection. Consequently, the current work strongly signifies Mycoplasma bovis as a major pneumonic pathogen of BRD in Sohag Governorate and it is suggested that vaccination program against the most common pneumogens including Mycoplasma bovis should be regularly warranted.

Conflict of Interest: 

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

[criadores-ganado-lechero]

[sanemyamen]

Bovine MastitisMarket is set for a Potential Growth Worldwide: Excellent Technology Trends with Business Analysis

Latest Report Available at Advance Market Analytics, “Bovine Mastitis Market” provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics and a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining industry growth.

The global Bovine Mastitis market focuses on encompassing major statistical evidence for the Bovine Mastitis industry as it offers our readers a value addition on guiding them in encountering the obstacles surrounding the market. A comprehensive addition of several factors such as global distribution, manufacturers, market size, and market factors that affect the global contributions are reported in the study. In addition the Bovine Mastitis study also shifts its attention with an in-depth competitive landscape, defined growth opportunities, market share coupled with product type and applications, key companies responsible for the production, and utilized strategies are also marked.

Some key players in the global Bovine Mastitis market are Zoetis (United States),Merck and Co., Inc. (United States),Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH (Germany),Elanco (United States),Ceva (France),West Way Health (Ireland),Virbac (France),Praj Industries Limited (India),Armenta(Israel),Veyx Pharma GmbH (Germany)

Mastitis is the most prevalent production disease in dairy herds worldwide, and it is well documented as a disease with a heavy burden in developed countries, while very minimal information is available for developing countries. Bovine Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland or udder. Mastitis in dairy cows is caused by udder infections, usually resulting from bacteria introduced either during the milking process or from environmental contact. Examples include contamination from milking equipment, milking personnel, manure contamination of dirty stalls. . According to the examination done annual losses per cow from mastitis in the United States of America in 1976 were estimated to be USD 117.35 per cow per year, later these losses had increased to USD 185 to USD 200 per cow per year. The demand for bovine mastitis solutions is booming owing to an increase in the occurrence of mastitis cases on the farm, a consistent decrease in milk yield. What's Trending in Market: Increasing government body supports

Challenges: The lack of awareness among farmers of the subclinical form of the diseases

Accounting for the rising competition in the global market

Market Growth Drivers: The major driving factor of the growth of  Bovine Mastitis is a public health risk due to consumption of unsafe milk, and less efficient processing of milk.

Growing awareness among dairy farmers regarding treatment is fueling the demand for antibiotics in the treatment of the condition.

The rise in the incidence of the disease among bovine animals

The Global Bovine Mastitis Market segments and Market Data Break Down by Therapy (Lactating Period, Dry Period {Antibiotics, Others}), Mastitis (Clinical mastitis, Sub-Clinical mastitis, Peracute mastitis, Acute mastitis, Subacute mastitis, Chronic mastitis), Route of Administration (Intramammary, Systemic), Mode of transmission (Contagious, Environmental, Opportunist Mastitis), Cause (Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus aureus, CMycoplasma BovisAgalactiaeoagulase-Negative Staphylococci, Mycoplasma Bovis, Environmental Streptococcus), Animal Type (Cow, Sheep, Goat, Camel, Other) Presented By

AMA Research & Media LLP

[rjzimmerman]

More than 20 orphaned buffalo calves that lost their mothers to the bacteria are kept in a corral. Credit...Dawnee LeBeau for The New York Times

Excerpt from this story from the New York Times:

On the ice-glazed banks of the Missouri River, coyotes chewed through the hide of a buffalo that had recently died from disease. In a corral up the hill, more than 20 orphaned buffalo calves crowded together in the cold with no mother to protect them. Down in the pasture, a few animals stood apart from the others, coughing violently, clouds of their breath hanging in the winter air.

Fred DuBray spent about 30 years building that herd at his ranch on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. But since last year, his buffalo have been dying by the dozens, victims of a microscopic invader, Mycoplasma bovis, that has ravaged pastures across the Great Plains and the West.

There is no data about how many animals are dying, no highly effective treatment, no official guidance on what to do when an outbreak emerges. Ranchers and researchers have relied on anecdotal accounts to come to a consensus that the ongoing surge in cases is probably the worst ever, even as they disagree about whether the bacteria is likely to have dire, species-level consequences.

Mycoplasma bovis, which is common in cattle but rarely lethal for that animal, was identified in 2013 by the federal Agriculture Department as an emerging pathogen in buffalo, with reports then that it could kill 25 percent of adults in an infected herd. The bacteria, which can be spread between cattle and buffalo, has been a persistent problem for buffalo ranchers in the years since, and has also killed wild pronghorns in Wyoming.

Jeff Martin, who grew up on a buffalo ranch in Wisconsin and now studies the animals at South Dakota State University, said there was a link between the growing number of cases and the warming climate, which can cause stress for buffalo, weakening their immune systems and making them more susceptible to infections. The Northern Plains, where many of the outbreaks have emerged, have experienced severe drought in recent years.

“This is just one of the expected outcomes of climate change worsening: drought, getting hotter, wildfires,” said Dr. Martin, the research director at South Dakota State’s Center of Excellence for Bison Studies.

The ubiquity of Mycoplasma bovis in cattle makes eradicating it virtually impossible, scientists say, and the bacteria’s genetic makeup makes it very difficult to target with vaccines or drugs like penicillin. More research is urgently needed, they said. Mycoplasma bovis is not believed to pose a risk to humans or to spread through eating meat.

[vetrehberi]

Sığırlarda Mikoplazma Bovis Enfeksiyonları

Sığırlarda Mikoplazma Bovis Enfeksiyonları

Sığırlarda Mikoplazma Bovis enfeksiyonları, bir çiftlikte hayvanlarda burun akıntısı, gözyaşı akıntısı, öksürük, hızlı soluma, hırıltılı solunum, aksırık, tıksırık, topallık, eklemlerde şişlik, kulağını asma (kulağı bir yana doğru eğik tutma), meme yangısı (mastitis), iştahsızlık, durgunluk gibi belirtiler sıklıkla görünüyorsa Mikoplazma bovis aklımıza gelsin. Sığırlarda Mikoplazma Bovis (yeni…

[mcatmemoranda]

Like I've mentioned before, I get confused by M. tuberculosis and M. pneumoniae because both cause lung infections and both have "M." in the name. But the former is mycobacterium and the latter is mycoplasma. Mycobacteria are hard to treat even with drugs that target the cell wall (PCNs) because they're often resistant. Mycoplasma, on the other hand, has no cell wall.

Mycobacteria = includes M. tuberculosis, which obviously causes TB, but also non-tubercular mycobacteria, such as MAC, which causes MAC intracellulare in immunocompromised hosts.

Mycobacterium is a genus of Actinobacteria, given its own family, the Mycobacteriaceae. Over 190 species are recognized in this genus.[1] This genus includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) and leprosy (Mycobacterium leprae) in humans.[2] The Greek prefix myco- means "fungus," alluding to the way mycobacteria have been observed to grow in a mold-like fashion on the surface of cultures.[3] It is acid fast and cannot be stained by the Gram stain procedure.

Mycobacteria can colonize their hosts without the hosts showing any adverse signs. For example, billions of people around the world have asymptomatic infections of M. tuberculosis (Latent TB).

Mycobacterial infections are notoriously difficult to treat. The organisms are hardy due to their cell wall, which is neither truly Gram negative nor positive. In addition, they are naturally resistant to a number of antibiotics that disrupt cell-wall biosynthesis, such as penicillin. Due to their unique cell wall, they can survive long exposure to acids, alkalis, detergents, oxidative bursts, lysis by complement, and many antibiotics. Most mycobacteria are susceptible to the antibiotics clarithromycin and rifamycin, but antibiotic-resistant strains have emerged.

As with other bacterial pathogens, M. tuberculosis produces a number of surface and secreted proteins that contribute to its virulence. However, the mechanism by which these proteins contribute to virulence remains unknown.

Mycobacteria can be classified into several major groups for purpose of diagnosis and treatment: M. tuberculosis complex, which can cause tuberculosis: M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. africanum, and M. microti; M. leprae, which causes Hansen's disease or leprosy; nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are all the other mycobacteria, which can cause pulmonary disease resembling tuberculosis, lymphadenitis, skin disease, or disseminated disease.

Mycoplasma = includes mycoplasma pneumoniae, which causes atypical pneumonia.

Mycoplasma (plural mycoplasmas or mycoplasmata) is a genus of bacteria that lack a cell wall around their cell membranes.[1] This characteristic makes them naturally resistant to antibiotics that target cell wall synthesis (like the beta-lactam antibiotics). They can be parasitic or saprotrophic. Several species are pathogenic in humans, including M. pneumoniae, which is an important cause of "walking" pneumonia and other respiratory disorders, and M. genitalium, which is believed to be involved in pelvic inflammatory diseases. Mycoplasma species are the smallest bacterial cells yet discovered,[2] can survive without oxygen, and come in various shapes. For example, M. genitalium is flask-shaped (about 300 x 600 nm), while M. pneumoniae is more elongated (about 100 x 1000 nm). Hundreds of mycoplasma species infect animals.

Mycoplasma species have been isolated from women with bacterial vaginosis.[3] M. genitalium is found in women with pelvic inflammatory disease.[9] In addition, infection is associated with increased risk of cervicitis, infertility, preterm birth and spontaneous abortion.[10] Mycoplasma genitalium has developed resistance to some antibiotics.[11] Mycoplasmas are associated with infant respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and intraventricular hemorrhage in preterm infants.

[juniperpublishers-jdvs]

Mycoplasma Bovis; A Neglected Pathogen in Nigeria- A Mini Review-Juniper Publishers

JUNIPER PUBLISHERS-OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL OF DAIRY & VETERINARY SCIENCES

Abstract

Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) is the second most pathogenic bovine mycoplasmas known worldwide. It is associated with various diseases in cattle including calf pneumonia, mastitis, arthritis, otitis media, kerato conjunctivitis and genital disorders. Few antimicrobials like tulathromycin, florfenicol, fluoroquinolones and gamithromycin are currently approved for treatment of M. bovis infection worldwide. Antibiotic treatment must be instituted early in the course of the disease, and pain relief should be provided for sick cows and calves. Vaccines have been reported to be available against the infection, but have not been proved protective. Early detection of disease, improved husbandry conditions and treatment with effective antimicrobial are currently the best approach in the control of the disease. Mycoplasma bovis infection being a most important emerging disease of cattle is new and poorly understood among cattle owners and field veterinarians in Nigeria. Research to establish the molecular basis and distribution of the disease in Nigeria is recommended.

Keywords: Cattle; Disease; Mycoplasma bovis; Nigeria  

Introduction

Mycoplasma bovis is the second most pathogenic mycoplasma after Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides the causative agent of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia [1]. It was first definitively identified in the USA in 1961 from a cow with mastitis, although clinical signs associated with the organism were described beforehand [2]. It is now recognized as a worldwide pathogen of intensively farmed cattle and in recent years has emerged as an important cause of infection in young dairy calves in North America and Europe [3]. A member of the wall-less bacterium belongs to the Class Mollicutes, Order Mycoplasmatales, Family Mycoplasmataceae, and the Genus Mycoplasma [4] and is among the smallest and simplest free- living micro-organisms capable of self-replication [5].

The organism causes bovine mycoplasmosis, an infection that leads to a variety of clinical manifestations mostly of chronic nature, including bronchopneumonia [2], otitis media [6], mastitis [7], genital disorders [8], arthritis [9], meningitis [10] and kerato conjunctivitis [11]. Mycoplasma bovis can affect a large variety of tissues and organs and can also be isolated from apparently healthy cattle [12]. Several reports have suggested that mycoplasmas are frequently present in the cattle population, causing disease in conditions of impaired immune response due to stress of transportation, adverse weather condition and impaired feeding [13,14]. It adversely affects growth rates resulting in increased cost of production and additional treatment cost, resulting in large economic losses to the cattle industry [15]. The organism is considered to be one of the major emerging pathogens of cattle in industrialized countries threatening livestock production [16]. Elimination of M. bovis is difficult and treatment with antimicrobials is unsuccessful unless animals are treated early in the course of disease [17]. There are no vaccines available commercially against M. bovis infection, although the use of auto genus vaccines has shown some success [18]. It is important to effectively target antimicrobial treatment to ensure prudent use of antimicrobials and to reduce the development of antimicrobial resistance [17].

Currently few reports are available on M. bovis infection in Nigeria despite the prevalent nature of the organism as reported by these authors [19-23]. On this background, this overview of the infection was presented. The following aspects are discussed:

a) Epidemiology,

b) Clinical signs,

c) Diagnosis,

d) Treatment,?

e) Control and

f) Information about the infection in Nigeria.

4. Epidemiology

Mycoplasma bovis is well adapted to colonization of mucosal surfaces, where it can persist without causing clinical disease. The upper respiratory tract (URT) mucosa is the primary site of M. bovis colonization in cattle following URT exposure [24]. After intra mammary exposure, the mammary gland appears to be the major site of colonization [25]. Irrespective of the route of exposure, M. bovis can be isolated from numerous body sites during early infection, particularly the URT, mammary gland, conjunctiva and urogenital tract [26]. Mycoplasmemia during M. bovis infection has earlier been documented [24,2 5]. The URT mucosa and the mammary gland appear to be the most important sites of persistence and shedding of the organism [26]. Although many cattle shed M. bovis for a few months or less, some cattle can shed the organism sporadically for many months or years [26,27]. The factors responsible for sporadic shedding have not been determined. However, it has been reported that cattle with clinical disease usually shed large numbers of M. bovis [1]. Stressful conditions such as transportation, comingling, entry into a feedlot, and cold stress are associated with increased rates of nasal shedding of M. bovis [15]. Chronic asymptomatic infection with intermittent shedding of M. bovis appears critical to the epidemiology of infection, especially the maintenance of the agent within a herd and exposure of naive populations [1].

Clinical Signs

Mycoplasma bovis infection is multi factorial and can manifests itself in any/or combination of the following clinical signs.

Pneumonia

Mycoplasma bovis-associated pneumonia can be manifested in any cattle in a herd/or farm irrespective of age [2]. Clinical signs are imprecise and include fever, hyperpnoea, dyspnoea, and decreased appetite, with or without nasal discharge and coughing [2]. The severity of calf pneumonia can be further compounded by animal husbandry, the environment, low effectiveness of many antimicrobials, and unknown efficacy of vaccines [18,28]. Mycoplasma pneumonia can be accompanied by cases of otitis media, arthritis, or both, in the same animal or in other animals in the farm/herd. Chronic pneumonia and polyarthritis syndrome (CPPS) occur when animals develop polyarthritis in association with chronic pneumonia, and do occur in beef cattle after some weeks of entry into feedlot [1].

Mastitis

The herd presentation of mycoplasma mastitis varies from endemic subclinical disease to severe clinical mastitis outbreak [29]. Many infections are subclinical, and few numbers of sub clinically infected cows have a marked decrease in somatic cell count or reduced milk production. Cows of any age or stage of lactation are affected [25]. When the disease is clinical, signs are nonspecific and typically more than one quarter is affected. There is a drastic decline in milk production and signs of systemic illness are relatively mild [29]. The mammary gland might be distended but is not usually painful. Secretions vary from mildly abnormal to gritty or purulent, and are sometimes brownish in color. A history of mastitis that is resistant to treatment with antimicrobials is common, and clinical disease can persist for several weeks [1,29]. Arthritis, synovitis, joint effusion or respiratory disease in mastitic or nonmastitic cows can accompany M. bovis mastitis [1,30].

Otitis media

Mycoplasma bovis-associated otitis media occurs in dairy and beef calves as enzootic disease or as outbreaks, and also occurs sporadically in feedlot cattle. In early or mild cases calves remain attentive with a good appetite, but as disease progresses they become febrile and anoraexic. Clinical signs occur as a result of ear pain and facial nerve deficits, especially ear droop and ptosis [31,32]. Ear pain is evidenced by head shaking and scratching or rubbing ears. Epiphora and exposure keratitis can develop secondary to eyelid paresis. Clinical signs can be unilateral or bilateral, and purulent aural discharge can be present if the tympanic membrane has ruptured [1]. Concurrent cases of pneumonia, arthritis, or both are common. Otitis interna and vestibulocochlear nerve deficits can occur as result. Head tilt is the most common clinical sign, but severely affected animals can exhibit nystagmus, circling, falling, or drifting toward the side of the lesion and vestibular ataxia [33]. In advanced otitis media-interna, meningitis can develop. Spontaneous regurgitation, loss of pharyngeal tone, and dysphagia has also been reported and are indicative of glossopharyngeal nerve dysfunction with or without vagal nerve dysfunction [1].

Arthritis, synovitis and periarticular infection

Mycoplasma bovis-induced arthritis is supposed to be a consequence of mycoplasmemia [1]. Arthritis was preceded by mycoplasmemia in one calf that was inoculated intratracheally with M. bovis [25]. Infections of other body systems that occasionally accompany polyarthritis are also likely to be a consequence of mycoplasmemia [34]. Clinical cases of M. bovis- induced arthritis in dairy calves tend to be sporadic and are typically accompanied by respiratory disease within the herd and often within the same animal [34]. Clinical signs are typical of septic arthritis with affected joints being painful and swollen, and calves display varying degrees of lameness and may be febrile in the acute stage of infection [35]. Cattle of any age can be affected by M. bovis arthritis [30]. Chronic Pneumonia and Polyarthritis Syndrome (CPPS) have been described in feedlot cattle [9]. Clinical signs are typical of septic arthritis, including acute non-weight bearing lameness with joint swelling, pain, and heat on palpation. The animal might be febrile and anorectic. Involvement of tendon sheaths and periarticular soft tissues is common. Large rotator joints (hip, stifle, hock, shoulder, elbow, and carpal) are commonly affected, although other joints such as the fetlock or even the atlantooccipital joint can be involved. Poor response to treatment is a common feature [30].

Kerato conjunctivitis

Mycoplasma bovis can be isolated from the conjunctiva of healthy and diseased cattle [11,25], although M. bovis-associated ocular disease is considered uncommon [36]. However, there are several reports of outbreaks of kerato conjunctivitis involving M. bovis alone, or in mixed infections with Mycoplasma bovoculi [11,37]. An outbreak of severe kerato conjunctivitis, from which M. bovis was the only consistently isolated pathogen, was reported in a group of 20 calves. Clinical signs included mucopurulent ocular discharge, severe eyelid and conjunctival swelling, and corneal oedema and ulceration which can resolve within 2 weeks [38]. In a report by Alberti etal., [11], an outbreak of M. bovis-associated kerato conjunctivitis in beef calves in Italy was followed by cases of pneumonia and arthritis.

Meningitis

Mycoplasma bovis infection can cause meningitis in calves which can sometimes be difficult to identify, as calves may just appear to have fevers and be depressed. Signs of apparent neck pain and abnormal eye movements may also be evident [39]. Meningitis can also occur as a complication of mycoplasma otitis media-interna. Mycoplasma bovis has also been isolated from the cerebral ventricles of young calves with clinical signs of meningitis in conjunction with severe arthritis, suggesting disseminated septic disease [1].

Genital Disorders

In isolated and predominantly experimental cases, Mycoplasma bovis has been associated with genital infections such as abortion in cows and seminal vesiculitis in bulls. However, there is little facts to support an important role for M. bovis in naturally occurring bovine reproductive disease [1].

Diagnosis

Rapid and accurate diagnosis of M. bovis infections is compromised by the low sensitivity and, in some cases, specificity of the available tests, and subclinical infections and intermittent shedding complicate diagnosis [1]. Various laboratory tests are currently used for the screening, detection and confirmation of the pathogen in cattle. Detection of the M. bovis organism is generally carried out either by a capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), or culture isolation using special media, or molecular tests [15]. Serological methods are useful screening tests but of limited use at the early stage of infection as sero-conversion is usually at least two weeks post infection. The isolation and culture of Mycoplasma species requires specialist skills and is not always successful due to multiple mycoplasma infections, or presence of other bacteria [39,5]. It has been previously reported that the specificity of serological, culture and some molecular tests may have limitations, and may result in misidentification or inconclusive results [40,41].

Treatment

The good news about Mycoplasma bovis infection is that unlike other mycoplasma diseases, antimicrobials are recommended for its treatment. Although there is scanty information about pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data on the treatment of M. bovis infections [1]. There is no effective therapy of mastitis and only limited success in treatment of respiratory and joint infections caused by M. bovis have been reported [2,42]. Two antimicrobials have been approved in the United States for treatment of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) associated with M. bovis. These are tulathromycin (Draxxin, Pfizer Animal Health, New York, NY) and florfenicol (Nuflor Gold, Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, Summit, NJ). Another macrolide, gamithromycin (Zactran Injectable Solution, Merial Canada, Baie d'Urfe, Quebec, Canada), is approved for treatment of M. bovis-associated BRD in Canada [1]. However, in countries where fluoroquinolones and spectinomycin do carry appropriate labels, they have been recommended to be the most effective drugs for treatment of M. bovis infections [1,43]. Antibiotic treatment must be done early in the course of the disease, and pain relief should be provided for sick cows and calves [44].

For the treatment of M. bovis-associated arthritis have an especially poor response to treatment. Aggressive early treatment before the development of extensive tissue necrosis seems most likely to be successful. Fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines, and macrolides tend to have good distribution into joints [45]. Myringotomy with irrigation of the middle ear has been recommended for the treatment of otitis media in calves. There is a report of successful surgical treatment of a calf with M. bovis-associated otitis media-interna in which a bilateral tympanic bulla osteotomy was performed [33].

Prevention and control

Although vaccines have been reported to be available in developed nations against this infections, but have not proved to be protective [14,46]. The best way to prevent Mycoplasma bovis infections is probably to maintain a closed herd or, if that is not possible, to screen and quarantine newly purchased animals. The use of sick boxes for sick cows and good sectioning of different age groups of calves and young animals are very important to prevent outbreaks [44]. Calf health records should be examined where necessary to determine if M. bovis-associated diseases such as otitis media have been observed. [1]. Early detection of disease, improved husbandry conditions, and treatment with effective antimicrobial are currently the best approach in the control of the disease [15].

Information about the infection in Nigeria

Nigeria being a giant of Africa is endowed with abundant livestock resources with estimated cattle population of19.5 million which make the country number one in livestock production in Africa [47]. The country could not utilize up to 50% of its dairy and beef industries as compared to developed nations. Diseases are regarded as setbacks in actualization of animal production in Nigeria of which Mycoplasma bovis infection is among [48]. This organism has been documented to cause economic impacts in those countries that are certified free from contagious bovine pleura pneumonia [49]. To the best of my knowledge, there are as such few reports available on Mycoplasma bovis infection in Nigeria. Mycoplasma bovis infection being one of the serious economic diseases of cattle has not been given sufficient attention it deserves [50]. Epidemiological studies were conducted in northwestern states of Nigeria [20,21] and northeastern Nigeria [22,23,48], the authors reported M. bovis to be prevalent in their study areas. Ajuwape et al. [20] reported 23.1% prevalence using biochemical and serological identification on pneumonic lung tissues of cattle; Tambuwal et al. [21] reported 66% servo prevalence using sera samples of cattle; Egwu et al. [19] reported 1.5% prevalence using isolation and biochemical identification of apparently normal and pneumonic lungs of sheep and goats. Whereas Francis et al. [49] and Francis et al. [23] reported 2.0% and 19.5% respectively using pneumonic lungs and sera samples of cattle.

There are reports of high number of cases of ear infections, arthritis and coughing being encountered on the field/farm more especially in the northern Nigeria which points at M. bovis infection, but in most instances such cases are ignored or misdiagnosed (Francis, personal observation). To the practicing veterinarian in the field, once face with such cases, his mind will be directed towards Contagious Bovine Pleuropeumonia (CBPP) which in also presents similar clinical signs and thereby neglecting other causative agents such as M. bovis infection.

Conclusion

Mycoplasma bovis infection could be a most important emerging disease of cattle and small ruminants has been reported to be a reservoir of the infection in Nigeria. But because the disease seems to be new and poorly understood among cattle owners and field veterinarians, researc

h is therefore needed to establish the molecular basis and distribution of the disease in Nigeria. As at present, a research work is in progress in northeast Nigeria, which aimed to identify and confirm whether pathologic lung lesions encountered in most abattoirs in the region were as a result of CBPP or co-infection with other pathogenic mycoplasmas which M. bovis is one of the targets.

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[design-storytelling-zach]

Week 8 (Design & Storytelling)

This week we had to choose and develop a what-if scenario using the matrix map like used before in week 6 to analyze the potential what if and what kind of historical, myths, and probabilities come along with it. After we’d consider and plan out an array of separate what-if scenarios when would then pick on to turn into an online website in the year 2051. Piggybacking off our previous video about the consumption of dairy in New Zealand after looking at and pasting a few facts about NZ live-stock in how much are killed per year plus how much live-stock + dairy, in general, contribute to New Zealand GDP we decided to pin-point a what-if scenario where the entire world becomes vegan which then possibly leads to all meats and livestock production, in general, being illegal. Over the last couple of years, horrendous information about the condition farmers have live-stock living in and animal cruelty those animals face has lead to a lot of shocking revelation this plus the more and more people slowly starting to live a more vegan-friendly lifestyle could possibly lead to the eventual downfall of live-stock in this what-if. We thought this would be an interesting idea as morally this seems like a pretty bright future but in this what-if, every human wouldn’t really have a consistent supply of protein that comes from meats some use protein shakes and other powders to counter-act this. 

Another situation we considered was if cows were to become extinct how would New Zealand the 3rd largest producer of milk cope with this? Diary is top 3 GDP in NZ so how would the economy recover would we have a similar financial crash just like when the USA banned prohibition (alcohol) in 1920 despite it generating a huge amount of revenue to the USA a top 5 industrial income for the country. This banning of alcoholic drinks was a key contributor to the USA great depression which lasted from 1929-1933. Could NZ face similar side effects? This would of been an interesting one as previously the NZ government in 2018 killed an estimated 150,000 cows to prevent the spread of mycoplasma bovis a deadly bacteria if these bacterias were to resurface this time killing the entire population of not only New Zealand’s cows but the entire world what would happen? This is a very interesting idea as milk has become a key component in everyday foods would we just migrate over to goat’s milk or chose a more vegan-friendly option like almond? These two were the main what-ifs we explored we had other like a what-if the Australian fruit flies crisis which has been plaguing the Australian fruit industry made its way to NZ but that was more of a throwaway idea to add to the matrix map. 

Eventually, we all found that the what-if the world went more vegan was probably the most realistic and would relate back to our video on the consumption of dairy more. Now with our what-if chosen in “What if the consumption and distribution on love-stock became illegal” we then started producing both personas of people who would possibly live in this 2051 what-if scenario plus prototypes products that would exist in this world too. Starting off with the personas we made two young twenty adults in Joseph and Hanna. Joseph would be someone who had a former job or family relative from 2021 having lost their farming job due to the illegalization of live-stock someone who’s been affected negatively by this what-if and Hanna already a vegan activist being someone who has had the illegalization benefit her. We wanted to look over both the good and the bad this what-if would bring to people hoping this would lead us to a potential prototype/ product to produce. We again circled around to the lack of protein that would be available with meats gone which led me to choose a new type of protein shake as my prototype as this would be a key product that would rise in popularity to replace the proteins from the meat I wanted to focus how much would this product change throughout the next 30 years or if it would change at all. 

[biomedres]

Journal on Medical Genetics - BJSTR Journal

PCR Methods for Detecting Bovine Respiratory Pathogens by Xiangmei Zhou* in  Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research https://biomedres.us/fulltexts/BJSTR.MS.ID.002145.php Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) is an important disease in cattle production, BRD may be associated with one or more pathogens, of which Mycobacterium bovis, Mycoplasma bovis, and Klebsiella pneumoniae are three important pathogens. Fast and accurate detection methods are important for preventing and controlling BRD. This review focuses on the PCR detection methods for the above three pathogens in recent years. Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) is an important disease in cattle production, causing serious economic losses world widely [1]. The occurrence of BRD is a combination of multiple factors and may be associated with one or more pathogens [2]. Among them, Mycobacterium bovis, Mycoplasma bovis, and Klebsiella pneumoniae are three important pathogens. Mycobacterium bovis can infect many kinds of animals. Besides cattle, there are 50 kinds of vertebrates such as humans. Sick animals showed a gradual loss of body weight, anemia and cough. Cattle with active tuberculosis are the main source of infection. Their respiratory tract carrys bacteria, which are excreted from coughing and sneezing [3]. Mycoplasma bovis is one of the main pathogens involved in cattle pneumonia. It was found that 5.5% of the nasal swabs from cattle with respiratory symptoms were positive for Mycoplasma bovis [4]. Klebsiella pneumoniae, an important conditional pathogen, mainly exists in the intestine, respiratory tract and urogenital tract [5]. The incidence of respiratory and urinary tract is the highest. Aslan et al. isolated bacteria from bovine upper respiratory tract infections and found that Klebsiella pneumoniae accounted for 20% [6]. For more articles on Journal on Medical Genetics please click here bjstr Follow on Twitter : https://twitter.com/Biomedres01 Follow on Blogger : https://biomedres01.blogspot.com/ Like Our Pins On : https://www.pinterest.com/biomedres/

[sarahbennu01]

Analysis on Impact of COVID19-Global Mycoplasma Testing Market 2020-2024 | Evolving Opportunities with Agilent Technologies Inc. and ATCC

The global mycoplasma testing market size is expected to grow by USD 445.57 million as per Technavio. This marks a significant market growth compared to the 2019 growth estimates due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020. Moreover, steady growth is expected to continue throughout the forecast period, and the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 11%.

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The global outbreak of COVID-19 has compelled several companies in the healthcare industry to focus on finding a cure for this life-threatening disease. The number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that focus on biomedical research is increasing, resulting in rising demand for mycoplasma testing to identify and eliminate mycoplasma contamination during the development of cell-derived biological and pharmaceutical products. However, the global outbreak of coronavirus is expected to have a neutral impact on the growth of the mycoplasma testing market during the forecast period.

The market is driven by the increasing focus on R&D of biopharmaceuticals. In addition, the growing M&A and partnerships between CROs, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies is anticipated to boost the growth of the mycoplasma testing market.

New class therapeutics such as cell therapy and gene therapy are gaining popularity as a novel treatment for many chronic and acute diseases. Thus, many pharmaceutical companies and research institutes are concentrating on the R&D of these products owing to their huge market potential. However, cell therapy products witness challenges around sterilization and its storage, as a result of which, it has to be immediately administered to the patients. Common mycoplasma species such as Acholeplasma laidlawii, Mycoplasma arginini, Mycoplasma bovis, Mycoplasma fermentans, and Mycoplasma salivarium have been identified as contamination in cell cultures and the biopharmaceutical processes. A product developed with mycoplasma contamination triggers serious side effects in humans. This is driving the demand for mycoplasma test kits. Rapid mycoplasma test kits are commercially available in the market that can be used in research labs and biopharmaceutical manufacturing companies for cell line qualification and in-process monitoring.

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Major Five Mycoplasma Testing Companies:

Agilent Technologies Inc.

Agilent Technologies Inc. has business operations under various segments, such as life sciences and applied markets, diagnostics and genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The company's key offerings include MycoSensor PCR Assay Kit, 50 Rxn, which is a gel-based PCR assay that can rapidly detect mycoplasma infections in the human cell lines in less than four hours.

ATCC

ATCC operates its business through various segments, such as classic media, specialty media, stem cell research, human cytogenetics, mycoplasma detection, and molecular biology. The company's key products include Universal Mycoplasma Detection Kit, which offers a quick and sensitive PCR-based test to detect mycoplasma contaminants in cell culture.

Becton, Dickinson and Co.

Becton, Dickinson and Co. has business operations under various segments, such as BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional. The company's key offerings include BD MAX System, which is a fully-integrated, automated platform that performs nucleic acid extraction and real-time PCR providing results for up to 24 samples across multiple syndromes in less than three hours.

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. operates its business through two segments: pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. The company's key offerings include MycoTOOL PCR Mycoplasma Detection Kit, which tests the absence of mycoplasma in cell culture samples. It supplies all reagents for the amplification step. It is an in-vitro amplification test optimized for detection of mycoplasma in cell culture.

InvivoGen

InvivoGen has business operations under various segments, such as research fields, biological tools, and custom services. The company offers PlasmoTest, which is the first assay to utilize cells to signal the presence of mycoplasma. It is a simple, rapid, and reliable assay for the visual detection of mycoplasma contamination in cell cultures.

[juniperpublishers-jdvs]

Current Approach to Bovine Respiratory Disease-Juniper Publishers

JUNIPER PUBLISHERS-OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL OF DAIRY & VETERINARY SCIENCES

Abstract

Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) is a multi-factorial disease resulting from the interaction of bacterial and viral agents, usually in combination with stress. BRD is a major health problem of cattle worldwide and is also a disease of economic importance to the cattle industry. One of the challenges of bovine respiratory medicine is early detection of clinical cases of BRD. This is especially important in subclinical forms of the disease, which can be easily missed and cause important economic losses. Also, the preventative approaches to the disease are not enough. In this article, basic characteristics and current diagnosis, treatment and prevention approaches of BRD were reviewed.

Keywords:  Bovine Respiratory Disease; Fibrinogen; Haptoglobin; Nitric Oxide Releasing Solution

Abbreviations: BRD: Bovine Respiratory Disease; BHV: Bovine Herpes Virus Type; BRSV: Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus; BVDV: Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus; PI3: Parainfluenza-3 Virus; APP: Acute-Phase Proteins; Fb: Fibrinogen; Hp: Haptoglobin; SAA: Serum Amyloid A; CRP: C-reactive Protein; NORS: Nitric Oxide Releasing Solution

Introduction

Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) is a multi-factorial disease, usually resulting from the interaction of bacterial and viral agents, combined with stress factors [1] such as weaning, transportation, pooling of cattle from multiple sources, dusty conditions, parasitism, concurrent diseases and weather extremes and environmental factors ultimately resulting in bronchopneumonia [2,3]. The viral pathogens associated with BRD include bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1), parainfluenza- 3virus (PI 3), bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV), and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV). In addition, bacterial pathogens associated with BRD are Mannheimiahaemolytica, Mycoplasma bovis, Pasteurellamultocida and Histophilussomni [3].

BRD continues to be one of the most common animal health concerns in commercial feedlot production, and can result in significant economic losses [4]. BRD is causing approximately 75% of the morbidity and over 50% of the mortality in feedlots [5]. It is estimated that BRD is responsible for the loss of more than one million animals and approximately US $700 million annually [6]. In addition, at least $23.60 has been spent per treated calf [3].

One of the challenges of bovine respiratory medicine is early detection of clinical cases of BRD. This is especially important in subclinical forms of the disease, which can be easily missed and cause important economic losses [7]. It is generally accepted that early recognition and treatment of BRD improves both prognosis and outcome, while delayed diagnosis and treatment may result in treatment failure [4].

Especially, respiratory disease of young dairy calves is a significant cause of morbidity, mortality, economic loss, and animal welfare concern but there is no gold standard diagnostic test for antemortem diagnosis [8].

Diagnosis of BRD

Clinical examination

The clinical diagnosis of BRD classically is based on clinical signs [7]. These signs which are used to make a diagnosis of respiratory disease of calves are fever, cough, ocular or nasal discharge, abnormal breathing, and auscultation of abnormal lung sounds [8]. Different practical tools have been developed for researchers and producers for both beef and dairy calves [7].

Love WJ evaluated clinical scoring systems for BRD. There are some different clinical scoring systems for BRD. The first system values are coughing (induced or spontaneous coughing, 2 points), nasal discharge (any discharge, 3 points), ocular discharge (any discharge, 2 points), ear and head carriage (ear droop or head tilt, 5 points), fever (≥39.2 °C or 102.5 °F, 2 points), and respiratory quality (abnormal respiration, 2 points). Calves are categorized "BRD positive” if their total score is ≥4. This system correctly classified 95.4% of positive cases and 88.6% of controls. The second presented system categorized the predictors and assigned weights as follows: coughing (spontaneously, 2 points), mild nasal discharge (unilateral, serous or watery discharge, 3 points), moderate to severe nasal discharge (bilateral, cloudy, mucoid, mucopurulent, or copious discharge, 5 points), ocular discharge (any discharge, 1 point), ear and head carriage (ear droop or head tilt, 5 points), fever (≥39.2 °C, 2 points), and respiratory quality (abnormal respiration, 2 points). Calves were categorized "BRD positive” if their total score is ≥4. This system correctly classified 89.3% of positive cases and 92.8% of controls. The third presented system using the following predictors and scores: coughing (spontaneous only, 2 points), nasal discharge (any, 4 points), ocular discharge (any, 2 points), ear and head carriage (ear droop or head tilt, 5 points), fever (≥39.2 °C, 2 points), and respiratory quality (abnormal respiration, 2 points). Calves are categorized "BRD positive” if their total score is ≥5. This system correctly classified 89.4% of positive cases and 90.8% of controls. Each of the proposed systems offers few levels of clinical signs and data-based weights for on-farm diagnosis of BRD in dairy calves [6].

Auscultation examination

Normally, the thorax of each calf is systematically scanned in each intercostal space from the 11th to the 4th and it is divided into 3 equal longitudinal regions ( Figure 1): dorsal, middle, and ventral [9]. If the veterinarian is focus on enzootic bronchopneumonia, she/he should concentrate on the middle and ventral parts of the thorax. Because bovine bacterial bronchopneumonia usually occurs in these locations. The medium and ventral parts of the right (r) and left (l) thorax then are divided into 4 quadrants (Ar/Br/Cr/Dr and Al/Bl/Cl/Dl) that are auscultated using a stethoscope (Figure 1). The presence of abnormal lung sounds including crackles, wheezes, and pleural friction rubs and the absence of respiratory noises should be recorded as abnormal [7].

Ultrasonographic examination

Buczinski S have reported the detailed ultrasonographic examination technique in calves with BRD as indicated below. Thoracic ultrasonography has been previously mentioned as a non-invasive ancillary tool for assessing lung lesions and can give information that is complementary to more classical lung function tests (blood gas analysis or spirometric measures). Thoracic ultrasonography has been shown to be highly correlated with radiographic and necropsy lesions [9]. It can be done easily on calf, and therefore has the potential to be used by bovine practitioners and researchers in field conditions [7].

The same area that is auscultated systematically scanned from the 8th to the 4th intercostal space for enzootic pneumonia for use ultrasonographic examination (Figure 1). A total of 8 sites for each side of the thorax are screened for the presence of abnormal ultrasonographic findings. Ultrasonography can performed using a 8.5MHz linear probe that is directly applied on the thorax after 70% isopropyl alcohol could sprayed on the area of interest to improve image quality without clipping. The different anomalies should be noted the presence of comet-tail artefacts (COMT) [7].

Laboratory tests

Whole blood and nasal swab samples, nasopharyngeal swab and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid can use for detection of BRD agents with PCR and ELISA techniques [2,5,10]. But periodical monitoring of the infectious agents is not practical, also expensive for a lot of farm.

To improve diagnostic accuracy, several authors have focused on ancillary tests using various blood biomarkers. For example, the acute-phase proteins (APP) change in concentration after infection, inflammation, surgical trauma, or stress and can either increase (positive APP) or decrease (negative APP) as a consequence of inflammatory stimuli before the clinical signs. Haptoglobin (Hp), serum amyloid A (SAA), and fibrinogen (Fb) are among the most commonly reported APPs. The C-reactive protein (CRP) has also been mentioned in various species (eg, human or dog) as an important APP but has received limited interest in cattle. The serum increase of APPs can occur as soon as 4 hours after the insult for SAA and CRP or later (24-48 hours) for Hp and Fb [11].

Treatment of BRD

Antimicrobial agents are primarily used to reduce the incidence and severity of BRD, and various registered antibiotics are available for its treatment. Ampicillin, erythromycin, tetracycline, spectinomycin, sulfamethazine, gamithromycin, florfenicol, and tulathromycin are anti-microbial agents commonly used in the treatment of BRD [1,12]. They are generally administered by the oral and/or parenteral routes. However, these treatment applications have several important disadvantages such as systemic side effects, irritation at the injection site, and withdrawal times before slaughtering or milking of animals for human consumption [13]. In addition, developing antibiotic resistance risk of some pathogens is increasing [14]. Joshi have applied relatively new treatment technique for BRD with nebulization. The researchers reported that nebulisation of sodium ceftiofur has more effective treatment when compared with intramuscular injection of the antibiotic in calves with BRD under field conditions.

Prevention

Unfortunately, routine screening of calves for respiratory disease on the farm is rarely performed [8]. The vaccines available to prevent BRD continue to improve [15]. In addition, a nitric oxide releasing solution (NORS) has been developed and shown to have potential in the prevention of BRD [16]. In the other hand, purchasing single-source cattle which known history of pre- and post-weaning procedures can minimize pathogen exposure and enhance immunity. Using cattle-handling techniques and facilities that promote low stress will allow host immune defences to remain effective against bacterial and viral colonization. Also, controlling BRD must be managed through a comprehensive herd health immunization and management program that effectively addresses disease challenges common to the operation [17,18].

Conclusion

In conclusion, BRD is still an important topic and seems to will be serious problem for cattle industry some more time because of its complex etiological structure, difficulties of early diagnostic and treatment situations. One of the negative parts of the situation is improving antibiotic resistance of the pathogens; therefore treatment alternatives are getting decrease. In this frame, prevention and early diagnose of BRD have more importance for future of the cattle industry worldwide.

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[diarynz]

Calves killed in fire: 'I wouldn't wish it on anybody'

New Post has been published on https://diary.nz/calves-killed-in-fire-i-wouldnt-wish-it-on-anybody/

Calves killed in fire: 'I wouldn't wish it on anybody'

A North Otago farmer whose newborn calves died in a shed fire says he “wouldn’t wish it on anybody”.

Fire crews were last night called at 5.45pm to a well-involved blaze at a 40x20m calf-rearing shed in Macdonalds Rd, about 10km north of Oamaru.

The land was that of dairy farmers Neil and Dot Smith, who also own the nearby Riverstone Castle.

Initially fire services reported more than 200 calves were likely to have died in the incident.

However, Mr Smith said luckily it would be much less as some had already been put outside in sheltered paddocks.

He did not have an exact figure yet.

His focus was on assuring the physical and mental wellbeing of his staff and welfare of his animals, he said.

It was something he would “not wish on anybody”.

“Some people don’t think so, but farmers are very close to their animals, that’s why a lot of us do it.

“The real tough part is they are all individuals. Farmers know their livestock, kids take them to calf clubs. The emotion that strikes them is the safe as if they were your pets.”

He has farmed since 1956 and the event was a first for him.

Since the fire he had been “absolutely inundated” with neighbours seeking to help out.

He did not need to take them up on their offers as he had a big team, and Mycoplasma bovis fears made it difficult for others to come on to the farm.

The building had two pens still standing, but he did not know whether it was salvageable.

The fire was extinguished with the help of two fire appliances, from Oamaru and Glenavy, backed by water tankers from Glenavy and Weston.

The firefighters, some of who used breathing apparatus, had left the scene by 8.20pm.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman Dan Reilly said when firefighters arrived at the scene people were using diggers to remove hay bales from the building.

The fire was not being treated as suspicious.

They would likely know more about the cause within the next week.

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[randallvangundy]

M. bovis becoming established in Wyo. pronghorns

Mycoplasma bovis has probably killed around 500 pronghorn antelope in Campbell County, Wyo., since last year, says Erika Peck -More- 

[creativefutures-semester-2]

‘Government announces changes to biosecurity and animal tracing’

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/114357084/government-announces-changes-to-biosecurity-and-animal-tracing

The Government is aiming to beef up New Zealand's biosecurity system, with a raft of changes being made in response to the experience of the M Bovis outbreak.

The immediate effect will be changes to the Tracing Act (NAIT), including improved tracing, tightened rules for handling untagged animals, and aligning the level of penalties with other acts to reflect the seriousness of non-compliance.

There will also be an overhaul of the Biosecurity Act over the next two years, with a view to initial public consultation at the end of 2019.

Biosecurity Minister Damien O'Connor made the announcement at a farm in the Eighty-Eight Valley near Nelson on Friday, in which he stated that "The Mycoplasma bovis outbreak is the single biggest biosecurity event New Zealand has faced ... We need learn from the bovis experience and have better pieces of legislation as a result of it."

Proposed changes to the system included enabling sellers to make animal location history available to a purchaser on request, making it an offence to transport untagged animals without an exemption (and include a defence for drivers), and amending the Act's purposes of holding core data to include stock theft and wandering stock.

Work on the Biosecurity Act will progress in two stages.

Stage 1: Will involve economic outcomes, focusing primarily on issues around compensation, with public consultation planned to be concluded by the end of the year.

Stage 2: Will look at environmental, social and cultural outcomes over a longer timeframe, with a view to public consultation in the second half of 2020.