Investigation of contagious agalactia by bacteriological and PCR methods in sheep and goats

Abstract

The aim of this study was diagnosis that occurrence of Contagious Agalactia by bacteriological and molecular methods in sheep and goats. A total of 339 samples from sheep and goats in Bursa, Balikesir, Canakkale and Edirne provinces were examined by bacteriological and molecular methods. The samples were 162 milk samples, 147 eye swabs, 15 joint fluids, 11 nasal swabs and 4 lung tissue. In bacteriological examination, 29 isolates were evaluated as Mycoplasma sp.. As a result of biochemical tests and growth inhibition tests, 29 (8.55%) Mycoplasma sp. were identified as 25 (7.37%) Mycoplasma agalactiae, 2 (0.58%) Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae and 2 (0.58%) Mycoplasma arginini. In molecular diagnosis, polC gene-PCR results could be detected M. agalactiae positive with 9.14% rate. As a result of this, 5 milk samples and 1 lung tissue sample were detected positive by polC-PCR while negative by bacteriological examination. The results of polC-PCR detected M. agalactiae positive with 14.19% rate of milk samples, 13.33% rate of joint fluids, 2.72% rate of eye swabs and 50% rate of lung tissue samples but nasal swabs were detected as negative. In this study, presence of Contagious Agalactia were investigated by bacteriological and molecular methods and M. agalactiae was detected as a main agent which cause disease however other Mycoplasma species which cause disease were not observed.