title: Detection and prevalence of four different hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. in Eastern North Carolina American black bears (Ursus americanus).
abstract: Hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. are globally emerging, obligate parasitic, epierythrocytic bacteria that infect many vertebrates, including humans. Hemoplasma infection can cause acute life-threatening symptoms or lead to a chronic sub-clinical carrier state. Hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. transmission, prevalence, and host specificity are uncertain. The purpose of this study was to determine the molecular prevalence of Mycoplasma species in blood from 68 free-ranging black bears from the eastern coast of North Carolina. DNA amplification of Mycoplasma 16S rRNA gene identified four distinct species infecting 34/68 (50%) of the black bear blood samples, including Candidatus M. haematoparvum. The high prevalence of hemotropic Mycoplasma infection in this wildlife species highlights the importance of understanding intra and inter species transmission. Black bears may play a role in the transmission of hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. between animals, arthropod vectors, and humans. Further studies are needed to elucidate black bears as a potential reservoir for hemotropic Mycoplasma infections.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Medicine Consortium, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, 1060 William Moore Drive, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA. Electronic address: lswestmo@ncsu.edu.
authors.forename: Lori S H
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Westmoreland
authors.affiliation: Environmental Medicine Consortium, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, 1060 William Moore Drive, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA. Electronic address: mkstosko@ncsu.edu.
authors.forename: Michael K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Stoskopf
authors.affiliation: Environmental Medicine Consortium, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, 1060 William Moore Drive, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA. Electronic address: rgmaggi@ncsu.edu.
authors.forename: Ricardo G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Maggi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D006801:Humans; D009174:Mycoplasma / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D001503:Ursidae / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: American black bear; Hemoplasma; Hemotropic Mycoplasma; Ursus americanus