Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae in farmed whitetailed deer

Abstract

Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae is an infectious cause of respiratory disease, previously assumed to cause disease only in members of the subfamily Caprinae (sheep, goats, muskox). This bacteri­um has sporadically been isolated from other species, including captive white-tailed deer (WTD); however, little is known about the incidence or significance of M. ovipneumoniae in this spe­cies. Chronic respiratory disease is a common problem in captive WTD, and due to the fastidious nature of M. ovipneumoniae, in­fections with this bacterium may be overlooked as a contributing factor. The objective of this study is to characterize the incidence of M. ovipneumoniae infection and its association with respira­tory disease in an intensively managed captive WTD herd. Ad­ditionally, future multi-locus and full genome sequence analyses will elucidate relatedness between M. ovipneumoniae isolates from WTD and other species.