Mycoplasmas and mites in the ears of clinically normal goats

Abstract

Mycoplasmas were detected in the external ear canal of goats by swabbing and culture. Up to 10(8) colony forming units were recovered from single swabs. The resulting cultures were usually mixtures of mycoplasmas containing up to 5 species. The species present in sequential swabs varied. Pathogenic species (M.agalactiae, M.capricolum, M.mycoides subsp. capri, M.mycoides subsp. mycoides of the large colony (LC) type, M.putrefaciens) were isolated from the ears and in addition 3 untyped mycoplasmas G, U and V were often present. The same mycoplasmas were found in large numbers in the mites Psoroptes cuniculi and Raillietia caprae which were sometimes present in the external ear canal. The role of the mycoplasmas in the external ear canal as a source of infection and disease and of the mites in the spread of infection requires further elucidation.

Mycoplasmas of Goats and Sheep

“…U. 32 No information is available concerning its prevalence or pathogenicity. On 1 occasion, an isolate serologically similar to Mycoplasma sp.…”

“…23,48 Three strains, Mycoplasma spp. G, U, and V, were first isolated from the external ear canals of clinically normal goats in Australia 31,32 but also occur in the ear canals of goats in the United States (strains GM274B or GM790A, GM623, and GM257A, respectively) and are probably new mycoplasma species. 33,35,44 New evdia, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United States.…”

Contagious agalactia by Mycoplasma agalactiae in small ruminants in Brazil: first report

“…In this study the role of carrier animals is suggested by the isolation of M. agalactiae after five days of treatment with tylosin, and also from the ear washings of sheep and goats infected by Psoroptes cuniculi. In other countries P. cuniculi is highly prevalent in goats and M. agalactiae has been isolated from this acarid (6,8). Other acarid, Railletia caprae that also can be a carrier of Mycoplasm spp is the most prevalent in other Brazilian regions (26).…”

Mycoplasma auris sp. nov., Mycoplasma cottewii sp. nov., and Mycoplasma yeatsii sp. nov., New Sterol-Requiring Mollicutes from the External Ear Canals of Goats

“…Some of these mollicutes have also been isolated from other hosts, but the majority of them occur principally in these two species. A significant number of them are pathogens that have caused major economic losses worldwide in both hosts (3, During 1981 and1982, many mycoplasmas were isolated from the external and middle-ear canals of clinically normal goats in Australia (5, 6). As many as six serologic types, including pathogenic species, were found in one ear, and up t o 10' CFU of mycoplasmas was recovered from a single ear swab culture.…”