Studies of Bovine Mycoplasma Mastitis

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 117; no. 2; pp. 171 - 179
• Main Authors: Michael Kehoe, J., Norcross, Neil L., Carmichael, Leland E., Strandberg, John D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The University of Chicago Press 01.04.1967; University of Chicago Press
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies; Antigens; Blood plasma; Cattle; Culture Media; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; In Vitro Techniques; Infections; Lymphocytes; Mastitis; Mastitis, Bovine - pathology; Microscopy, Electron; Mycoplasma; Mycoplasma - cytology; Mycoplasma - growth & development; Neutrophils; Neutrophils - cytology; Plasma cells; Staining and Labeling; Ungulates
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/117.2.171

The cellular reaction observed in experimentally induced bovine Mycoplasma mastitis was predominantly neutrophilic in the early stages, with a gradual, incomplete transition to mononuclear cells supervening after several days. Necrosis was not prominent. Although Mycoplasma growth exceeded 10⁸ colony-forming units per ml of milk, no organisms could be located in mammary tissue or regional lymph nodes by conventional staining technics. Mycoplasma were demonstrated in tissues by a direct fluorescent antibody procedure. This technic revealed that the strain grew in widely dispersed, discrete microcolonies in mammary and lymphoid tissue. Individual filamentous structures were apparent within single microcolonies. A significant rise in complement-fixing antibody was demonstrated in experimentally infected cattle. Some ultrastructural studies of agar colonies of this strain were made. The characteristics of this isolate conform very closely to those described for other members of the genus Mycoplasma.