IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Dieckmann, S.M. | |
| Analysis of novel haemotrophic _Mycoplasma_ isolates with main focus on significance of haemotrophic _Mycoplasma_ infections in horses | |
| 2011 Full Book | |
Haemotrophic mycoplasmas (HM), small, cell wall-less, uncultivable bacteria, reside on the surface of mammalian red blood cells (RBCs). In most animal species, a HM infection is accompanied by haemolytic anaemia, and clinical signs may include decreased exercise tolerance, lack of appetite, poor weight gain, and infertility. Although HM infections have already been studied in several domesticated and wild animals, almost nothing is known about possible infections in horses. First indications of the existence of horse-specific HM parasites and their infection of horses in the Luneburg Heath (Northern Germany) were reported by owners presenting horses showing the aforementioned clinical signs. Blood samples of these animals were analysed for HM using microscopy, PCR, and 16S rRNA sequencing, and the first molecular proof, that HM infections do occur in horses, was shown. The clinical significance of HM infections in horses was evaluated. Blood samples from horses of one breeding farm were analysed haematologically and screened using PCR and microscopy. For a more sensitive and unambiguous diagnostics, a specific SYBR green I real-time PCR assay was developed. A high prevalence of 33.2 % and a mean blood load of 1.67 x 107 cells/mL blood were observed. Infected horses older than one year showed no significant blood parameter changes, while those younger than one year showed a significant reduction in red blood cell count, haematocrit, and haemoglobin concentration, indicating a haemolytic anaemia. In horses, HM infections frequently displayed a subclinical course of disease, with relatively low concentrations of bacteria in blood. A severe course of disease with pronounced clinical signs and anaemia may only develop in young, stressed, or immunocompromised animals. Generally, the current classification of HM in the _Mycoplasma_-cluster in the _Mollicutes _group was confirmed, and within HM's group, two subclusters were found ('haemofelis- group' and 'haemominutum-group'). In Northern Germany, two HM isolates were found in cattle: _M. wenyonii _and '_C_M haemobovis'. The novel equine HM isolate belongs to the 'haemofelis-group' and shows 97-98 % 16S rRNA identity to '_C_M haemobovis'. |
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