Reproduction of respiratory mycoplasmosis in calves by exposure to an aerosolised culture of Mycoplasma bovis

Abstract

© 2017 Mycoplasma bovis is an important pathogen of cattle, causing pneumonia, arthritis and otitis media in young calves, and mastitis in lactating cows, resulting in increased morbidity and, in some instances, mortality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the survival of a M. bovis isolate following nebulisation and to establish whether respiratory disease similar to that seen in the field could be induced in calves by exposing them to an aerosolised culture of M. bovis. A group of eight M. bovis-free calves 14–28 days old were exposed to an aerosolised culture of a field isolate of M. bovis that had originally been recovered from a joint lesion in a calf. Three weeks after aeroso..