Bovine resp. ddx

Question 1

Mycoplasma bovis

Answer 1

• classic signs = respiratory signs, swollen joints, head tilt/ suppurative ear involvement)
• spread: from a few clinically normal carriers until a larger portion of the herd is affected .

** feeding milk infected with M.bovis = important source of transmission

-** can evade the host immune response –> leading to persistent infections and poor response to treatment with antimicrobials
( a significant portion of affected animals remain chronically ill and unthrifty )

dx: (best) culture +/or PCR of affected lung tissue
(ante-mortem) - collect sampled from lower respiratory tract via transtracheal aspiration or BAL

Vaccines available but not effective

tx: injectable enrofloxacin, florfenicol, tulathromycin, tetracyclines