title: Effect of chronic hemoplasma infection on cattle productivity.
abstract: The present study evaluated the effect of hemoplasmosis on cattle productivity. Prevalence of bovine hemoplasma was examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using whole blood samples collected from 93 breeding cows and their 71 calves in Hokkaido, Japan. Monthly milk production records and other clinical data were compared between Mycoplasma wenyonii (Mw)-infected, "Candidatus Mycoplasma haemobos" (CMh)-infected, co-infected and PCR-negative groups. Blood chemical parameters were obtained from the 93 cows and 64 calves. PCR results showed that 89.2% (83/93) of cows and 14.1% (10/71) of calves were positive for bovine hemoplasma. Based on productivity data obtained from the 93 cows, Mw-infected, CMh-infected and co-infected cows had significantly lower monthly milk yield compared to PCR-negative cows. Furthermore, decline in milk yield was prolonged in CMh-infected and co-infected groups. No significant differences were found for other clinical findings among the four groups. Calf birth weight tended to be lower for Mw-infected, CMh-infected and co-infected groups compared to the PCR-negative group. There were no significant differences in all blood parameters of cows and calves among the four groups. In addition, no significant differences were found in any parameter between hemoplasma-infected and PCR-negative calves.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Michihito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tagawa
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamakawa
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Mitsuo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inokuma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001724:Birth Weight / Q000235:genetics; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation; D008892:Milk / Q000378:metabolism*; D009174:Mycoplasma / Q000235:genetics*; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D012313:RNA