Diagnosis of Mycoplasma bovis Infection in Cattle by ELISA and PCR

Mycoplasma bovis is one of the most pathogenic agents in Mycoplasma species that cause disease in cattle. Particularly, young calves less than 4 month age are at considerable risk for pneumonia caused by M. bovis. In this study, we investigated M. bovis from tracheal swabs and blood sera of cattle which were showed respiratory symptoms. A total of 127 tracheal swab samples were collected from seven different farms in Turkey. In addition, total 254 acute and convelance sera were collected from same cattle intervals 15 days. The materials were collected from cattle in 3-12 months of age that reported respiratory problems such as broncho-pneumonia with coughing, depression, letargy and fever. Mycoplasma bovis was investigated in tracheal swab samples and sera collected from cattle by using PCR and ELISA respectively. The PCR results showed that M. bovis infections were positive in 4 different farms. The rates ranged from 5.3% (1/19) to 37.5% (6/16). Out of the 127 cattle examined, 45 (35.4%) were positive for M. bovis antibodies, while 82 (64.6%) were found to be negative. All PCR positive cattle were also found to be positive by ELISA. M. bovis infections were positive in all farms and the ELISA positive rates ranged from 20% (2/10) to 68.8% (11/16). Considering these results, in especially chronic infections, ELISA is a more useful method than PCR to detect M. bovis infection.