scholarly journals Mycoplasma agalactiae, an Etiological Agent of Contagious Agalactia in Small Ruminants: A Review

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Kumar ◽  
Anu Rahal ◽  
Sandip Chakraborty ◽  
Amit Kumar Verma ◽  
Kuldeep Dhama

Mycoplasma agalactiaeis one of the causal agents of classical contagious agalactia (CA), a serious, economically important but neglected enzootic disease of small ruminants. It occurs in many parts of the world and most notably in the Mediterranean Basin. Following the infection common complications are septicaemia, mastitis, arthritis, pleurisy, pneumonia, and keratoconjunctivitis. Primary or tentative diagnosis of the organism is based upon clinical signs. Various serological tests, namely, growth precipitation, immunofluorescence, complement fixation test, haemagglutination inhibition, agglutination, immunodiffusion, enzyme immunoassays, immunoelectrophoresis, blotting techniques, and others, are available. Molecular tools seem to be much more sensitive, specific, and faster and help to differentiate various strains. The real-time PCR, multiplex PCR, quantitative PCR, PCR-RFLP, MLST, and gene probes, complementary to segments of chromosomal DNA or 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA), have strengthened the diagnosis ofM. agalactiae. Both live attenuated and adjuvant (alum precipitated or saponified) inactivated vaccines are available with greater use of inactivated ones due to lack of side effects. The present review discusses the etiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, and clinical signs of contagious agalactia in small ruminants along with trends and advances in its diagnosis, treatment, vaccination, prevention, and control strategies that will help in countering this disease.

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1782
Author(s):  
Sergio Migliore ◽  
Roberto Puleio ◽  
Robin A. J. Nicholas ◽  
Guido R. Loria

Contagious agalactia (CA) is suspected when small ruminants show all or several of the following clinical signs: mastitis, arthritis, keratoconjunctivitis and occasionally abortion. It is confirmed following mycoplasma isolation or detection. The historical and major cause is Mycoplasma agalactiae which was first isolated from sheep in 1923. Over the last thirty years, three other mycoplasmas (Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri, Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capricolum and Mycoplasma putrefaciens) have been added to the etiology of CA because they can occasionally cause clinically similar outcomes though nearly always in goats. However, only M. agalactiae is subject to animal disease regulations nationally and internationally. Consequently, it makes little sense to list mycoplasmas other than M. agalactiae as causes of the OIE-listed CA when they are not officially reported by the veterinary authorities and unlikely to be so in the future. Indeed, encouraging countries just to report M. agalactiae may bring about a better understanding of the importance of CA. In conclusion, we recommend that CA should only be diagnosed and confirmed when M. agalactiae is detected either by isolation or molecular methods, and that the other three mycoplasmas be removed from the OIE Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines in Terrestrial Animals and associated sources.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Renato Mesquita Peixoto ◽  
Alice Andrioli ◽  
Raymundo Rizaldo Pinheiro ◽  
Francisco Selmo Fernandes Alves ◽  
Vanderlan Warlington Souza Dos Santos ◽  
...  

Background: Contagious agalactia is an infectious disease caused by Mycoplasma agalactiae (M. agalactiae) that occurs in small ruminants leading to productive and economic losses. Due to the similarity of clinical signs presented in Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE), which is a viral disease, a differential diagnosis is important. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the presence of anti-Mycoplasma agalactiae antibodies in dairy goat flocks in Ceará State and possible correlation with CAE.Materials, Methods & Results: The research was performed in four mesoregions in Ceará State (Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza-MRF; Northeast Ceará - NeC; North Ceará - NC; Sertões in Ceará - SC), from which 16 productions located in 10 cities with the highest representativeness for goat milk production within the State or mesoregion were sampled. A total of 417 females and 69 males (486 animals) of breeds with dairy production aptitude, pure or crossbreed, maintained in semi-intensive or intensive systems, were tested. Blood serum was obtained by venipuncture of the jugular vein with vacuum pressure syringe followed by centrifugation at 1,500 g for 10min. Antibodies against the caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV) were detected with micro technique of agarose gel immunodiffusion (AGID) and Western Blot (WB). The anti-Mycoplasma agalactiae antibodies were detected with commercial kit of enzymatic immunoassay (IDEXX Laboratories™). Seroprevalence of M. agalactiae in dairy goat flocks in Ceará State was 0.62% (3/486). From the total of 16 visited productions, 18.75% (3/16) had seropositive animals for M. agalactiae located in MRF, NC and SC mesoregions. CAE was diagnosed in 56.25% (9/16) of productions with AGID and in 81.25% (13/16) with WB. In addition, 5.2% (25/486) of animals were seropositive for CAE with AGID and 16.6% (80/486) with WB. Animals that reacted positive for M. agalactiae were all females of pure breed with milk production aptitude in distinct mesoregions submitted to intensive rearing system. None of these animals was positive in neither test (AGID or WB) for CAE. Therefore, no correlation of results obtained in diagnosis of M. agalactiae by ELISA and CAEV by AGID or WB (P < 0.05) was identified. However, two out of three productions that were positive for M. agalactiae presented positive results for CAEV with frequencies of 10% and 20%.Discussion: Seroprevalence of M. agalactiae in Ceará State was low in comparison with other Brazilian states and even other countries. However, the presence of the pathogen in more than one mesoregion indicates that the disease occurs in different locations within the State. Therefore, flocks in Ceará are susceptible to the infection, which may be favored by uncontrolled commerce that occurs with deficient surveillance, associated with the importation of animals to improve flock genetic quality. The presence of the pathogen in dairy goats may contribute to significant losses in the local production. On the other hand, CAE was diagnosedin nearly all productions proving the dissemination of this lentivirus infection among dairy goat flocks in Ceará State. Although an association between these diseases was not identified, the presence of a retrovirus in the organism may favor co-infection with another micro-organism, promoting the deficiency in the immune system of the host. In conclusion, M. agalactiae is present in different mesoregions of the Ceará State and control measures should be adopted in short term to prevent pathogen dissemination and, consequently reduce economic and productive losses in the local dairy goat production. No correlation was identified between the prevalence of infection by CAEV and M. agalactiae in this study.Keywords: correlation, diagnosis, caprine lentivirus, mycoplasmosis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Maria Andersson ◽  
Anna Aspán ◽  
Henk J. Wisselink ◽  
Bregtje Smid ◽  
Anne Ridley ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) is an emerging bovine pathogen, leading to significant economic losses in the livestock industry worldwide. Infection can result in a variety of clinical signs, such as arthritis, pneumonia, mastitis and keratoconjunctivitis, none of which are M. bovis-specific. Laboratory diagnosis is therefore important. Serological tests to detect M. bovis antibodies is considered an effective indicator of infection in a herd and often used as a herd test. Combined with clinical judgement, it can also be used to implement control strategies and/or to estimate the disease prevalence within a country. However, due to lack of harmonisation of approaches to testing, and serological tests used by different laboratories, comparisons of prevalence data between countries is often difficult. A network of researchers from six European countries designed and participated in an inter-laboratory trial, with the aim of evaluating the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of two commercially available ELISA tests (ID Screen® ELISA (IDvet) and BIO K302 ELISA (BIO-X Diagnostics)) for diagnosis of M. bovis infection. Each laboratory received a blinded panel of bovine sera and tested independently, according to manufacturer’s instructions. Western blot analyses (WB) performed by one of the participating laboratories was used as a third diagnostic test in the statistical evaluation of Se and Sp values using latent class analysis. Results The Se of WB, the ID Screen® ELISA and the BIO K302 ELISA were determined to be 91.8, 93.5 and 49.1% respectively, and corresponding Sp of the three tests were 99.6, 98.6 and 89.6%, respectively. Conclusions The present study is, to our knowledge, the first to present an inter-laboratory comparison of the BIO K302 ELISA and the ID Screen® ELISA. Based on our results, the ID Screen® ELISA showed high consistency with WB and performed with higher precision and accuracy than the BIO K302 ELISA.


2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Khezri ◽  
SA Pourbakhsh

Contagious agalactia (CA) is one of the major animal health problems in small ruminants. It has economic effect and is caused by Mycoplasma agalactiae, the ‘classic’ etiological agent in sheep and goats. The significance of the different Mycoplasma spp causing CA varies depending on the geographic area. This study conducted between 2012 and 2013 on 189 small ruminants with CA signs in the west of Iran, an area where CA is endemic. All samples (milk, synovial fluid, ear swabs, conjunctival swabs and nasal swabs) were examined by PCR method. Mycoplasma spp was detected in 76.2% and M. agalactiae isolated from 16% of positive samples. M. agalactiae were isolated from 7 conjunctival swabs, 15 milk samples and one synovial fluid sample. Results showed that M. agalactiae was found to be the non-main cause of CA in small ruminants in Iran.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjvm.v12i1.20466 Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2014). 12 (1): 67-72 


Author(s):  
A. C. Chota ◽  
G. M. Shirima ◽  
L. J. M. Kusiluka

Aims: To review the diagnosis challenges and control strategies of the diseases presenting with respiratory signs. The emphasis being more on two transboundary animal diseases of small ruminants; contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) and peste des petits ruminants (PPR). Clinical signs and postmortem lesions associated with the two diseases were also explicated. Study Design: Review. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Global Health, School of Life Science and Bio-Engineering (LiSBE), Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) from December 2017 to June 2020. Methodology: A comprehensive review was carried out following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. A total of 506 articles, handbooks, Master’s and PhD thesis and conference proceedings were collected and after removal of the duplicates 80.6% (424/526) passed the first stage. Of the remaining search materials, (n=291) were removed including handbooks, master’s and PhD thesis which did not originate from the developing countries, 31.4% (133/424) passed the second. Of the articles that passed the second stage, (n=85) were removed from the study, these included all articles that did not involve field diagnosis such as review papers and those not originating from the developing countries, 36.1% (48/133) passed the third stage. In the fourth stage, (n=5) articles which reported on retrospective cases and archived samples were removed and 43 articles were reviewed. Results: Out of the 526 documents retrieved, 43 were eligible for review as they met all criteria for inclusion. Control strategies were recommended in 44.2% (19/43) of the articles of which most of them 63.2%, 12/19) recommended vaccination as a control strategy. Most of the articles reported definitive diagnosis reached following laboratory involvement as majority of them involved outbreak investigation or research works which is not the case in routine diagnosis. The major clinical signs mentioned in the review articles including fever 60.9% (14/23), oculonasal discharge 87.0% (20/23), respiratory distress 82.6% (19/23), erosive stomatitis 43.5% (10/23), diarrhea 56.5% (13/23) and coughing 30.4% (7/23) have been discussed relating to the definitive diagnosis reached in reporting articles. On the other hand, postmortem lesions including lung consolidation 38.1% (8/21), intestinal hemorrhage 38.1% (8/21), lung congestion 28.6% (6/21), serofibrinous pleurisy 28.6% (6/21), pneumonic lungs 23.8% (5/21) and unilateral lung inflammation 14.3% (3/21), have been discussed in relation to the definitive diagnosis reached.  Conclusion: Despite the similarities in clinical signs and postmortem lesions associated with diseases presenting with respiratory signs, definitive diagnosis of CCPP was reached in cases that involved clinical signs and postmortem lesions confined in the respiratory system whereas, PPR was more diagnosed in cases that presented with clinical signs and postmortem lesions associating the digestive system. However, presence of respiratory signs in the cases the diagnosed PPR may implicate presence of unidentified secondary bacterial infections. Vaccinations being the most advocated approach of control, require a broader look to make sure that polyvalent vaccines are available against the four common diseases. Also, use of treatment to reduce the effect of secondary infecting bacteria may be of help. Furthermore, for effective outcomes of the control strategies, collaborative efforts among countries at risk should be advocated.


2007 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Zendulková ◽  
A. Madanat ◽  
P. Lány ◽  
K. Rosenbergová ◽  
Z. Pospíšil

The aim of the study was to ascertain whether sheep and goats from selected Jordanian herds were infected with Mycoplasma agalactiae, the most common aetiological agent of contagious agalactia of sheep and goats. All examined animals showed clinical signs of disease at the time of sample collection. The group included 35 animals, 15 sheep and 20 goats. For microbiological examination, a total of 107 swabs were taken from conjunctival, nasal, vaginal or preputial mucosae and from the external auditory canal. Identification of the species isolated was carried out by a polymerase chain reaction. Of the 35 animals, 21 (4 sheep and 17 goats) tested positive for Mycoplasma agalactiae. These results confirmed our assumption that this mycoplasma species is present in Jordanian herds and, for the first time, provided evidence that contagious agalactia of sheep and goats occurs in Jordan.


Author(s):  
Andrew Chota ◽  
Gabriel Shirima ◽  
Lughano Kusiluka

Aims: To establish the prevalence and concurrent diseases in outbreaks presenting with respiratory signs, major associated clinical signs and postmortem lesions and proportions of those diseases in clinically and autopsied small ruminants for a proper diagnosis and control strategies. Study Design: Purposive outbreaks investigation. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Global Health, School of Life Science and Bio-Engineering (LiSBE), Nelson Mandela Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) between September 2016 and December 2018. Methodology: We included investigations of outbreaks of diseases presenting with respiratory signs in small ruminants reported from five agro-ecological zones in Tanzania. Small ruminats with clinical signs or postmortem lesions suggestive of respiratory involvement were subjected to clinical or postmortem examination. Samples from all examined animals were tested in the laboratory using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to confirm the tentative diagnosis. Results: A total of 205 small ruminats were examined and tested, of these 72.2% and 20.8% were goats and sheep respectively. In goats, 79.1% (117/148) and sheep, 28.1% (16/57) were confirmed to have concurrent infections, and pneumonic pasteurellosis and peste des petits ruminants (PPR) for goats, and PPR for sheep being mostly involved diseases. Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) was detected in 16.1% (n=205) of the animals, and was significantly high in goats (p=0.003, OR=7.3) than sheep. Pneumonic mannheimiosis (prevalence = 9.3%) was less likely to affect goats than sheep (p=0.047, OR=0.38). In goats (n=148), detection of all diseases was significantly (p<0.05) low in clinically examined animals except pneumonic pasteurellosis and PPR, (p =0.056, OR=2.1) and (p=0.096, OR=2.15) respectively, though the difference was not significant. In sheep (n=57), CCPP was significantly (p=0.005, OR=0.17) more likely to be detected in clinically examined animals. Conclusion: In investigations of outbreaks presenting with respiratory signs in small ruminants, it is important to consider concurrent infections in the interventions and control strategies to be deployed, which may include development and use of multivalent vaccines.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renato Mesquita Peixoto ◽  
Alice Andrioli ◽  
Raymundo Rizaldo Pinheiro ◽  
Francisco Selmo Fernandes Alves ◽  
Vanderlan Warlington Souza Dos Santos ◽  
...  

Background: Contagious agalactia is an infectious disease caused by Mycoplasma agalactiae (M. agalactiae) that occurs in small ruminants leading to productive and economic losses. Due to the similarity of clinical signs presented in Caprine Arthritis Encepha­litis (CAE), which is a viral disease, a differential diagnosis is important. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the presence of anti-Mycoplasma agalactiae antibodies in dairy goat flocks in Ceará State and possible correlation with CAE.Materials, Methods & Results: The research was performed in four mesoregions in Ceará State (Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza- MRF; Northeast Ceará - NeC; North Ceará - NC; Sertões in Ceará - SC), from which 16 productions located in 10 cities with the highest representativeness for goat milk production within the State or mesoregion were sampled. A total of 417 females and 69 males (486 animals) of breeds with dairy production aptitude, pure or crossbreed, maintained in semi-intensive or intensive systems, were tested. Blood serum was obtained by venipuncture of the jugular vein with vacuum pressure syringe followed by centrifugation at 1,500 g for 10min. Antibodies against the caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV) were detected with micro technique of agarose gel immunodiffusion (AGID) and Western Blot (WB). The anti-Mycoplasma agalactiae antibodies were detected with commercial kit of enzymatic immunoassay (IDEXX Laboratories™). Seroprevalence of M. agalactiae in dairy goat flocks in Ceará State was 0.62% (3/486). From the total of 16 visited productions, 18.75% (3/16) had seropositive animals for M. agalactiae located in MRF, NC and SC mesoregions. CAE was diagnosed in 56.25% (9/16) of productions with AGID and in 81.25% (13/16) with WB. In addition, 5.2% (25/486) of animals were seropositive for CAE with AGID and 16.6% (80/486) with WB. Animals that reacted positive for M. agalactiae were all females of pure breed with milk production aptitude in distinct mesoregions submitted to intensive rearing system. None of these animals was positive in neither test (AGID or WB) for CAE. Therefore, no correlation of results obtained in diagnosis of M. agalactiae by ELISA and CAEV by AGID or WB (P < 0.05) was identified. However, two out of three productions that were positive for M. agalactiae presented positive results for CAEV with frequencies of 10% and 20%.Discussion: Seroprevalence of M. agalactiae in Ceará State was low in comparison with other Brazilian states and even other countries. However, the presence of the pathogen in more than one mesoregion indicates that the disease occurs in different loca­tions within the State. Therefore, flocks in Ceará are susceptible to the infection, which may be favored by uncontrolled commerce that occurs with deficient surveillance, associated with the importation of animals to improve flock genetic quality. The presence of the pathogen in dairy goats may contribute to significant losses in the local production. On the other hand, CAE was diagnosed in nearly all productions proving the dissemination of this lentivirus infection among dairy goat flocks in Ceará State. Although an association between these diseases was not identified, the presence of a retrovirus in the organism may favor co-infection with another micro-organism, promoting the deficiency in the immune system of the host. In conclusion, M. agalactiae is present in different mesoregions of the Ceará State and control measures should be adopted in short term to prevent pathogen dissemination and, consequently reduce economic and productive losses in the local dairy goat production. No correlation was identified between the prevalence of infection by CAEV and M. agalactiae in this study.Keywords: correlation, diagnosis, caprine lentivirus, mycoplasmosis.


2006 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 576-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edisio Oliveira de Azevedo ◽  
Maria Dalva Bezerra de Alcântara ◽  
Elmiro Rosendo do Nascimento ◽  
Ivon Macedo Tabosa ◽  
Maria Lúcia Barreto ◽  
...  

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