title: Mycoplasmosis in ferrets.
abstract: We report an outbreak of severe respiratory disease associated with a novel Mycoplasma species in ferrets. During 2009-2012, a respiratory disease characterized by nonproductive coughing affected ≈8,000 ferrets, 6-8 weeks of age, which had been imported from a breeding facility in Canada. Almost 95% became ill, but almost none died. Treatments temporarily decreased all clinical signs except cough. Postmortem examinations of euthanized ferrets revealed bronchointerstitial pneumonia with prominent hyperplasia of bronchiole-associated lymphoid tissue. Immunohistochemical analysis with polyclonal antibody against Mycoplasma bovis demonstrated intense staining along the bronchiolar brush border. Bronchoalveolar lavage samples from 12 affected ferrets yielded fast-growing, glucose-fermenting mycoplasmas. Nucleic acid sequence analysis of PCR-derived amplicons from portions of the 16S rDNA and RNA polymerase B genes failed to identify the mycoplasmas but showed that they were most similar to M. molare and M. lagogenitalium. These findings indicate a causal association between the novel Mycoplasma species and the newly recognized pulmonary disease.
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI 48910, USA. kiupel@dcpah.msu.edu
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiupel
authors.forename: Danielle R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Desjardins
authors.forename: Ailam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bolin
authors.forename: Cathy A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Johnson-Delaney
authors.forename: James H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Resau
authors.forename: Michael M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Garner
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Bolin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D005289:Ferrets / Q000382:microbiology*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008168:Lung / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009174:Mycoplasma / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S