Oral and Poster Abstracts

exists about Mb prevalence in dairy herds in France. A national
serological survey previously showed that in French beef cattle an
average of 7% of animals and 28 to 90% of the herds, according to the
department, have been infected by Mb. Two recent studies were
conducted to try to determine the prevalence of Mb udder infection in
dairy cattle. The first one was implemented with the aim of estimating
the Mb prevalence in the 1522 herds of a milk cooperative covering six
southeastern French departments. The number of herds to be tested
(n=345) was calculated based on an expected Mb infection prevalence
rate of 2% (by reference to US data). The second one was conducted
over a period of 12 months, based on 280 dairy herds coming from the
same region, in order to estimate the prevalence of Mb in clinical
mastitis. Each month, only one clinical mastitis milk sample was
allowed to be collected from the different herds. Mb search was carried
out by i) culture and then identification by dot immunobinding and ii)
PCR directly performed on samples (kit LSI-Lissieu-France).
Occurrence for M. canadense, M. bovigenitalium and M. alkalescens
was also tested. The results demonstrated that the prevalence for Mb
infection in these dairy herds was lower than the 2% expected. Both
surveys were preliminary studies and will need to be supported by
further investigations in order to confirm our results in other areas of
France with different dairy farming systems.
Key words: Mycoplasma bovis, milk, dairy herds, prevalence
205 Epidemiological Surveillance of Ruminant Mycoplamosis in
France
F. Poumarat 1 , MA. Arcangioli 2 , M. Chazel 1 , D. Le Grand 2 ,
P. Gaurivaud 1 , F. Tardy 1 , D. Calavas 1
1 AFSSA, Ruminant Mycoplasmosis, Lyon, France
2 Ecole Vétérinaire, Ruminant Mycoplasmosis, Marcy l'Etoile, Lyon,
France
A network of diagnosis laboratories coordinated by the French Food
Safety Agency (AFSSA) allows a continuous epidemiological
surveillance of ruminant mycoplasmosis throughout French territory.
The aims are: i) to identify mycoplasmas isolated from the ruminants;
ii) to follow the evolution of these mycoplasmosis and to detect
emergence of new species or variants; iii) to identify any re-emergence
of Contagious Bovine Peripneumoniae (CCBP); iv) to share scientific
information and technical knowledge relative to the ruminant
mycoplasmosis; v) to collect and keep representative collection of
isolates. Mycoplasmas are first isolated from field samples in
veterinary diagnostic laboratories and then send to AFSSA Lyon.
Species identification is performed by dot immunobinding assay, and
PCR is used to confirm if necessary. Then, for unidentified strains,
conclusion is obtained by sequencing of 16S RNA genes and
comparison to data bases. Between 2003 and 2007, about 2000
mycoplasmas isolates from animals originating from more than 70 out
208 Prevalence of Salmonella as Cause of Abortions in Cattle in
Southwest Ireland and Protective Effect of Vaccinations
J. Crilly 1 , E. Power 2 , C. Sanchez-Miguel 2 , D. Dufe 3 , B. Makoschey 4
1 Dairy Production Research Centre, Cork, Ireland
2 Regional Veterinary Laboratory, Cork, Ireland
3 Intervet-Schering-Plough, Regulatory Affairs, Boxmeer, Netherlands
4 Intervet-Schering-Plough, Int. Marketing, Boxmeer, Netherlands
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence
rates of Salmonella Dublin (S. Dublin) as the cause of bovine abortions
in southwest Ireland and to quantify the protective effects of S. dublin
vaccination under field conditions.
Materials and Methods: Pre-existing data on submissions from
aborted and stillborn calves to the Cork Regional Veterinary
Laboratory from 1989 to 2006 were used in the analysis. The
material was tested for Salmonella spp by standard bacteriological
culture. By linking the vaccination history of individual submissions
to the post-mortem bacteriological findings, it was possible to assess
322 XXV. Jubilee World Buiatrics Congress 2008
Abortions Workshop
of 96 French departments were identified. 1100 from cattle were
analysed over the period. 95% came from bronchopneumonia affecting
mainly young animals (87%) and 5% from arthritis and mastitis.
Mycoplasma (M.) bovis was the most commonly identified pathogen
(43%), singly or in mixed culture (20%). Otherwise M. bovirhinis and
M. arginini were regularly found respectively (23% and 13%) but are
thought to be only opportunistic. M. bovigenitalium, M. canadense, A.
laidlawii and M. mycoides subsp. mycoides biotype Large Colony were
sporadically encountered. Few isolates of M. canis and M. alkalescens
that has been suggested to be cause of respiratory disease, arthritis and
mastitis in cattle have been isolated but these mycoplasmas has not
shown in France the epizootic increasing that has been reported
recently in UK. No strain of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides biotype
Small Colony, the agent of CBPP, was detected either in cattle or in
small ruminants. These results underscore the importance in France of
M. bovis in cattle pneumonia. But M. bovis mastitis incidence seems to
be low as confirmed by other targeted surveys, only 10 outbreaks have
been identified for 10 years.
Key words: ruminants, mycoplasma, epidemiology, network,
surveillance
206 Prevalence and Control of Mycoplasma bovis in Europe
R. Nicholas 1 , E. Raedelli 2 , M. Luini 3 , G. Loria 4 , R. Ayling 1 ,
E. Scanziani 2
1 Veterinary Laboratories Agency, SEB, Addlestone, United Kingdom
2 University of Milan, Milan, Italy
3 Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia
Romagna Brescia, Milan, Italy
4 Veterinary Laboratories Agency, SEB, Addlestone, United Kingdom
5 Veterinary Laboratories Agency, SEB, Addlestone, United Kingdom
6 University of Milan, Milan, Italy
Mycoplasma bovis is a major cause of disease in both growing and
adult cattle. Pneumonia, mastitis, arthritis and otitis have all been
associated with mycoplasma infection, none of which respond well
to chemotherapy. In the UK serological screening of pneumonic
herds indicates that M. bovis is associated with approximately a
quarter of all outbreaks in calves; this mycoplasma is also the most
commonly isolated pathogen from pneumonic lungs. Since its first
introduction into Ireland in the mid 1990s, M. bovis has also become
a frequent isolate from pneumonic lungs. In a recent study of cattle
rearing regions in Northern Italy, M. bovis was the most common
bacterial pathogen involved in bovine pneumonia; all veal calves and
three quarters of all beef cattle were seropositive to M. bovis. A
commercial vaccine still appears a long way from availability in
Europe but autogenous vaccines, which are being used increasingly,
may help to bridge this gap in the short term.
Key words: Mycoplasma bovis, pneumonia, autogenous vaccine
the benefit of S. dublin vaccinations under field conditions. All
vaccination were performed with inactivated S. Dublin vaccines
(Intervet International, The Netherlands). More than 16,000
submissions from cases of bovine abortions were made over the 18
year study period.
Results: Apart from a small number of cases, which were unsuitable
for bacteriological examination due to advanced autolysis, culture
results were available for S. Dublin for most of the submissions. Of
all samples examined for S. Dublin, 9.9% were culture positive.
About 25% of the submissions were from cows vaccinated against S.
Dublin, 25% cows not vaccinated against this pathogen and 50%
with unknown vaccination status. The level of vaccination against S.
Dublin clearly increased during the study period. The time series of
abortions caused by S. Dublin showed evidence of two components,
namely a background prevalence with periods where levels increase
two fold or more.
Conclusions: In submissions from vaccinated cows, the relative risk of
being S. Dublin culture positive was consistently lower than for
submissions from unvaccinated animals or animals with unknown