Goats Infection Faecal Excretion

Central Veterinary Institute, Budapest Infection of Two Goatherds with Mycoplasma mycoides Subsp. capri in Hungary, Evidence of a Possible Faecal Excretion L. Szeredi 1,3 , M. Tenk 1 and A ´ . Da ´ n 1,2 Addresses of authors: 1 Central Veterinary Institute, H-1149 Budapest, Ta ´ bornok u. 2, Hungary; 2 Veterinary Medicine Research Institute, Hungarian Academic of Science, P.O. Box 18, H-1521 Budapest, Hungary; 3 Corresponding author: Tel.: + 36 1 252 8444; fax: + 36 1 222 6071; e-mail: [email protected] With 4 figures and 2 tables Received for publication October 2, 2002 Summary Duri ng epid emic outbreak s in two goath erds clinical symptoms and deaths occurred in five (14%) of the 3-week-old goat kids in farm A, and in six (33%) of those in farm B. In the lat ter far m, thr ee female goats abo rte d bef ore the cli nic al symptoms in the kids emerged. Mycoplasma could be isolated from both healthy and sick goat kids and from female goats, which had diseased kids or had aborted. Three goat kids (one from herd A and two from herd B) were sent for post-mortem examination. In all these cases septicaemia caused by Myco- plasma was diagnosed. Based on the bacteriological examina- ti on the Mycoplasma strains pr oved to be Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri (Mmc). This was confirmed by the PCR examinat ion. Mmc was isolated from se veral locati ons inc lud ingfro m the rec tum of one health y female goat, and from two diseased kids. In addition, bacteria were detected in the small intestine in two of the necropsied kids by bacterio- logic al and/o r immu nohi stoch emica l metho ds. The findin g suggests that Mmc may be transmitted via faeces in goatherds, kept under conventional conditions. Introduction The bacteriu m belo ngs to the Mycop lasma mycoid es cluster had earli er six spec ies or subs pecie s. Recen tly phylo genet ic analysis of these strains has revealed evidence suggesting that Mycoplasma spp. Bovine group seven should be included in the M. capric olum spec ies gr oup and that Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides Large Colony Type (MmmLC) is 99% identical to Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri (Mmc) (Thiaucourt, 2000). According to this new proposed division, the mycoides cluster contains five species or subspecies (Ruffin, 2001). In this paper, this new proposed nomenclature is used, and Mmc is used instead of MmmLC or Mmc. Mmc is widespread all over the world. It is one of the most important pathogens in the goatherds of Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and North America (Rodrı ´ guez et al., 1995a). In some herds, Mmc causes sporadic disease among goat kids (Rosendal et al., 1979; Baj mo ´ cy et al., 2000), whil e elsewhere it has be en associ at ed wi th mass di seas e and mort al it y in ki ds and occasionally also in female goats (DaMassa et al., 1983; East et al ., 1983; DaMassa et al ., 1986; Vi ll al ba et al ., 1992; Rodrı ´ guez et al ., 1995a ). Ki ds mo st of ten contract the inf ect ion dur ing suc kin g and les s fre que ntl y by aer oge nic route or through contact with infected goats (DaMassa et al., 1986; Smith and Sherman, 1994). In a certain proportion of the ani mal s, inf ect ion is fol lowed by the dev elo pme nt of com- monly fatal septicaemia accompanied by systemic damage of the blood vessel walls (Rosendal, 1984; DaMassa et al., 1986; Thiaucourt and Bo ¨ lske, 1996). In healthy animals, the patho- gen can be isolated from the external, and rarely also from the internal ear canal, from mange mites parasitizing the external ear canal, from the tonsils and also from the milk of asymp- tomatic milking does (Cottew and Yeats, 1982; DaMassa et al., 1986; DaMassa and Brooks, 1991). The exact route by which infection spreads among adult animals, is yet unknown (Smith and Sherman, 1994). In Hungary, the Mmc infection was found first time in 1999, where the kids of two goatherds were affected by polyarthritis and pneu monia (Bajmo ´ cy et al., 2000). This pap er rep ort s Mmc infection causing sporadic disease among goat kids in another two Hungarian goatherds, in one of which Mmc was detected from the intestine of affected and dead goat kids and from that of a healthy female goat. Materials and Methods In herd A, consisting of 95 animals purchased in January 1999 from several farm sources, five of the 35 kids fell ill at 3 weeks of age and died within a few days. Symptoms consisted of signs of fever, lac k of app eti te, dys pno ea, con jun cti vit is, joi nt swe lli ng and nervous sympto ms, inc lud ing opist hot onu s, circling and comatose condition. In herd B consisting of 51 goats, also purcha sed from sever al differ ent farms in 1999, three of the 21 pregnant female goats aborted in January 2000. In February, six of the 18 kids fell ill with signs of fever, lack of appetite, depression, back-arching and, in one case, diarrhoea. Also in this case, the clinical signs first appeared at 3 weeks of age, and all affected kids died within 2 days. The older animals remained health y. The mana gemen t and feedi ng condition s were satisfactory in both herds. Medication was not performed on either farm. Bacteriology From herd A, one dead goat kid (case 1), and from herd B, two dead goat kids (cases 2 and 3), were submitted for examination. Sample s wer e taken fro m the spl een, liv er, joi nts and small intestine of all three kids, and also from the medulla oblongata, lungs and kidneys of cases 2 and 3. The samples wer e ino cul ate d on nut rie nt agar and blo od agar wit hou t containing antibiotics and they were incubated under aerobic U. S. Copyright Clearance Center Code Statement: 0931–1793/2003/5004–0172$15.00/0 www.blackwell.de/synergy J. Vet. Med. B 50, 172–177 (2003) Ó 2003 Blackwell Verlag, Berlin ISSN 0931–1793

Goats Infection Faecal Excretion

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