Mycoplasma Bovis Outbreak in a Herd of North American Bison (Bison Bison)

Abstract

Abstract. A disease outbreak of high morbidity and high mortality in bison (Bison bison) was investigated. Clinical signs included lameness, swollen joints, respiratory distress, and lethargy. Fifty-three of 194 animals died. Cows between 5 and 10 years of age were the most affected group, in which 40 of 88 animals died. Necropsies were performed on several animals. There were abscesses in the lung and liver, as well as fibrinosuppurative pleuritis, polyarthritis, and disseminated microabscesses in various organs. No significant bacteria were isolated by routine aerobic cultures of lung and liver from 2 representative cases. However, Mycoplasma cultures were positive. Polymerase chain reaction tests on the isolated bacteria were positive for Mycoplasma bovis. Histologically, the abscesses were characterized by areas of necrosis with variable mineralization rimmed by granulomatous inflammation and fibrous tissue. No new animals had been introduced into the herd, but a cattle herd was present adjacent to the affected bison herd. Two restriction fragment length polymorphism techniques were used to compare the bison isolate and another bison isolate from an outbreak in North Dakota with a field isolate of M. bovis from cattle and with a laboratory control strain of M. bovis; the isolates and control strain were found to be similar. The isolates and the control were sequenced and compared with sequences in GenBank. Bison isolates were more than 99% homologous to M. bovis sequences in GenBank. It was concluded that M. bovis in bison can cause disseminated infection with a high morbidity and mortality and that bison isolates are similar to bovine M. bovis isolates.

Upregulation of PD-L1 Expression by Prostaglandin E2 and the Enhancement of IFN-γ by Anti-PD-L1 Antibody Combined With a COX-2 Inhibitor in Mycoplasma bovis Infection

“…Bovine mycoplasmosis, especially associated with M. bovis infection, is spreading globally, including in North America, Europe, and Japan (32)(33)(34)(35)(36). M. bovis is a highly contagious pathogen, and there are no effective vaccines owing to its immunosuppressive effects.…”

Evaluation of Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays for Detection of Mycoplasma bovis-Specific Antibody in Bison Sera

“…It has not generally been considered a significant infectious disease threat to bison, with only occasional anecdotal reports of outbreaks of pneumonia. In recent years, however, there have been alarming increases not only in the incidence and severity of M. bovis-associated infections in bison but also in the variety of clinical presentations, which currently include pneumonia, polyarthritis, pharyngitis, placentitis, and abortion (2)(3)(4)(5). Particularly of concern is the observation that M. bovis, which typically is a secondary or tertiary pathogen, appears to be acting as a primary pathogen in bison.…”

A serological and molecular study on the occurrence of mycoplasmas in European bison (Bison bonasus) from two areas of Eastern Poland

“…Although the usefulness of the Bio-X M. bovis ELISA in bison testing was demonstrated earlier (Register et al 2013a) the possibility of false positive results in this study cannot be excluded. Nevertheless it has been previously demonstrated that M. bovis does infect bison and can cause serious disease problems (Dyer et al 2008, Janardhan et al 2010, Register et al 2013b. Further studies are required to show the true mycoplasma status of bison and to determine the cause of the lesions observed.…”

“…In Poland serological evidence in one bison (Krzysiak et al 2014); pneumonia, larynCorrespondence to: K. Dudek, e-mail: katarzyna.dudek@piwet.pulawy.pl, tel. : +48 0-81 889 30 21 gitis, arthritis, synovitis and tenosynovitis in feedlot bison (Dyer et al 2008); arthritis, pleuritis and abscesses in the lung with mortality above 27% (Janardhan et al 2010); fatal reproductive disorders and abortion in American bison in which bronchopneumonia, pleuritis and coagulation necrosis in the lung were also observed (Register et al 2013b . Specific antibodies to these mycoplasmas in bison have not been observed (Krzysiak et al 2014).…”