Detection of Mycoplasma gallisepticum in experimentally infected broiler chickens using Culture, SPA, ELISA, and PCR methods

Avian mycoplasmosis is caused by several pathogenic mycoplasmas of which Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Mycoplasma synoviae are the most important. This experiment was designed to study the diagnosis of M. gallisepticum infection in broiler chicken receiving M. ga llisepticum. One hundred and twenty one-day-old chickens were raised in separate isolated rooms and equally allocated into two groups and renamed groups A and B were 121-day-old chickens. At 3 weeks old, group A was considered as the control group while group B was challenged with M. gallisepticum containing 1 × 106 CFU/bird via an eye drop. In this study, culture, serum plate agglutination (SPA) test, the commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were compared for the detection of M. gallisepticum infection during the 1-7 weeks of age. Results revealed that M. gallisepticum was found in group B using culture and PCR during the 4-7-week-old period. The SPA results showed positive reactors in group B during the 5-7-week-old period. The positive reactors were detected by commercial ELISA test kit from 6 to 7 weeks of age. In this study, sensitivity of the PCR method was higher as compared to culture and serological tests. Its high sensitivity and fast turnaround time is making it the most frequently used test to monitor M. gallisepticum infection beside other tests. © 2012 Springer-Verlag London Limited.