Mycoplasma Team, Department of Bacteriology, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Weybridge, Surrey, UK.
Animal and Plant Health Agency Veterinary Investigation Centre, Starcross, Exeter, UK.
BMC Vet Res. 2021 Oct 12;17(1):325. doi: 10.1186/s12917-021-03037-y.
Mycoplasma species have been associated with economically important diseases affecting ruminants worldwide and include contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) and contagious agalactia, listed by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The Mycoplasma Team at the Animal and Plant Health Agency provides an identification service for Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma species of veterinary importance to the United Kingdom (UK), supporting the detection of new and emerging pathogens, as well as contributing to the surveillance of endemic, and the OIE listed diseases exotic to the UK. Mycoplasma and other Mollicutes species were identified from diagnostic samples from farmed ruminants in England and Wales using a combination of culture and 16S rRNA gene-based PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, submitted between 2005 and 2019.
A total of 5578 mollicutes identifications, which include mycoplasmas and the related acholeoplasmas and ureaplasmas, were made from farmed ruminant animals during the study period. Throughout the study period, the pathogen Mycoplasma bovis was consistently the most frequently identified species, accounting for 1411 (32%) of 4447 molecular identifications in cattle, primarily detected in the lungs of pneumonic calves, followed by joints and milk of cattle showing signs of arthritis and mastitis, respectively. M. bovirhinis, M. alkalescens, M. dispar, M. arginini and Ureaplasma diversum, were also common. Mixed species, principally M. bovis with M. alkalescens, M. arginini or M. bovirhinis were also prevalent, particularly from respiratory samples. The non-cultivable blood-borne haemoplasmas Candidatus 'Mycoplasma haemobos' and Mycoplasma wenyonii were identified from cattle, with the latter species most often associated with milk-drop. M. ovipneumoniae was the predominant species identified from sheep and goats experiencing respiratory disease, while M. conjunctivae preponderated in ocular samples. The UK remains free of the ruminant mycoplasmas listed by OIE.
The continued high prevalence of M. bovis identifications confirms its ongoing dominance and importance as a significant pathogen of cattle in England and Wales, particularly in association with respiratory disease. M. ovipneumoniae has seen a general increase in prevalence in recent years, notably in coughing lambs and should therefore be considered as a primary differential diagnosis of respiratory disease in small ruminants.
支原体物种与全球反刍动物的重要经济疾病有关，包括传染性牛胸膜肺炎（CBPP）、传染性山羊胸膜肺炎（CCPP）和传染性无乳症，这些疾病均被世界动物卫生组织（OIE）列为疾病。动物和植物健康局的支原体团队为英国（UK）提供兽医重要的支原体和脲原体物种的鉴定服务，支持对新出现的病原体进行检测，并有助于监测地方性疾病和 OIE 列出的外来疾病。2005 年至 2019 年间，从英格兰和威尔士的养殖反刍动物的诊断样本中，使用培养和基于 16S rRNA 基因的 PCR-变性梯度凝胶电泳相结合的方法，鉴定了总共 5578 种柔膜体，其中包括支原体以及相关的无胆甾原体和脲原体。在研究期间，从养殖反刍动物中鉴定出了 5578 种柔膜体，包括支原体和相关的无胆甾原体和脲原体。在整个研究期间，病原体牛支原体一直是最常鉴定的物种，占牛的 4447 种分子鉴定中的 1411 种（32%），主要存在于肺炎小牛的肺部，其次是关节炎和乳腺炎牛的关节和牛奶，分别。M. bovirhinis、M. alkalescens、M. dispar、M. arginini 和 Ureaplasma diversum 也很常见。混合物种，主要是 M. bovis 与 M. alkalescens、M. arginini 或 M. bovirhinis 也很普遍，特别是从呼吸道样本中。从牛中鉴定出非培养的血源血原体候选支原体“支原体血原体”和支原体 wenyonii，后者与牛奶滴有关。M. ovipneumoniae 是从患有呼吸道疾病的绵羊和山羊中鉴定出的主要物种，而 M. conjunctivae 在眼部样本中占优势。英国仍然没有 OIE 列出的反刍动物支原体。
M. bovis 鉴定的持续高流行率证实了它作为英格兰和威尔士牛的重要病原体的持续主导地位和重要性，特别是与呼吸道疾病有关。M. ovipneumoniae 的流行率近年来普遍上升，特别是在咳嗽的羔羊中，因此应被视为小反刍动物呼吸道疾病的主要鉴别诊断。
