Prats-van der Ham Miranda, Tatay-Dualde Juan, de la Fe Christian, Paterna Ana, Sánchez Antonio, Corrales Juan Carlos, Contreras Antonio, Gómez-Martín Ángel
Ruminant Health Research Group, Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
Ruminant Health Research Group, Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
Theriogenology. 2017 Feb;89:324-328.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2016.09.014. Epub 2016 Sep 15.
Mycoplasma agalactiae (Ma) is the main causative agent of ovine contagious agalactia, which is a serious disease of small ruminants. In endemic areas, its most common clinical situation consists of chronically infected herds, and asymptomatic infected individuals represent an epidemiological risk regarding the transmission of this disease. The aim of this work was to detect the presence of asymptomatic rams infected with Ma in different artificial insemination centers, and to determine the most effective way to identify these individuals so as to implement adequate surveillance protocols. For this purpose, 215 rams and 14 teaser sheep were sampled taking auricular, nasal, and vaginal swabs and serum samples. In addition, ejaculates from 147 rams were analyzed. These samples were subjected to specific culture and molecular techniques to isolate and identify mycoplasmas, and to a serological test to detect antibodies against Ma. Mycoplasma agalactiae was detected in 47 (4.4%) of the 1077 samples analyzed, and also one individual resulted seropositive. Thus, 37 (17.2%) of the 215 studied rams were infected with Ma. The specimens which proportionally yielded the greatest number of positive results for this pathogen were semen samples (13.6%), followed by nasal swabs (5.8%). In contrast, the sampling of the external auricular canal and the serological analyses resulted insufficient to effectively detect infected individuals. Asymptomatic rams infected with Ma were detected in all the analyzed artificial insemination centers, highlighting the need to implement adequate surveillance protocols to prevent the presence of these individuals in these centers, reducing the risk of transmitting contagious agalactia.
无乳支原体（Ma）是绵羊传染性无乳症的主要病原体，这是一种严重的小型反刍动物疾病。在流行地区，其最常见的临床情况是畜群长期感染，无症状感染个体是该疾病传播的流行病学风险因素。这项工作的目的是在不同的人工授精中心检测感染无乳支原体的无症状公羊，并确定识别这些个体的最有效方法，以便实施适当的监测方案。为此，采集了215只公羊和14只试情羊的耳拭子、鼻拭子、阴道拭子和血清样本。此外，还分析了147只公羊的精液。这些样本经过特定的培养和分子技术来分离和鉴定支原体，并进行血清学检测以检测抗无乳支原体的抗体。在分析的1077个样本中，有47个（4.4%）检测到无乳支原体，还有1只个体血清呈阳性。因此，在研究的215只公羊中，有37只（17.2%）感染了无乳支原体。对该病原体呈阳性结果比例最高的样本是精液样本（13.6%），其次是鼻拭子（5.8%）。相比之下，外耳道采样和血清学分析不足以有效检测出感染个体。在所有分析的人工授精中心都检测到了感染无乳支原体的无症状公羊，这突出表明需要实施适当的监测方案，以防止这些个体出现在这些中心，降低传播传染性无乳症的风险。
