Abstract
We report an outbreak of severe respiratory disease associated with a novel Mycoplasma species in ferrets. During 2009-2012, a respiratory disease characterized by nonproductive coughing affected ≈8,000 ferrets, 6-8 weeks of age, which had been imported from a breeding facility in Canada. Almost 95% became ill, but almost none died. Treatments temporarily decreased all clinical signs except cough. Postmortem examinations of euthanized ferrets revealed bronchointerstitial pneumonia with prominent hyperplasia of bronchiole-associated lymphoid tissue. Immunohistochemical analysis with polyclonal antibody against Mycoplasma bovis demonstrated intense staining along the bronchiolar brush border. Bronchoalveolar lavage samples from 12 affected ferrets yielded fast-growing, glucose-fermenting mycoplasmas. Nucleic acid sequence analysis of PCR-derived amplicons from portions of the 16S rDNA and RNA polymerase B genes failed to identify the mycoplasmas but showed that they were most similar to M. molare and M. lagogenitalium. These findings indicate a causal association between the novel Mycoplasma species and the newly recognized pulmonary disease.
Highlights
We report an outbreak of severe respiratory disease associated with a novel Mycoplasma species in ferrets
In 2007, in the state of Washington, USA, an outbreak of respiratory disease characterized by a dry, nonproductive cough was observed in 6- to 8-week-old ferrets at a US distribution center of a commercial pet vendor
Every 2–3 weeks, kits had been shipped in groups of 150–200 from a commercial breeding facility in Canada to the distribution center
Summary
We report an outbreak of severe respiratory disease associated with a novel Mycoplasma species in ferrets. Nucleic acid sequence analysis of PCR-derived amplicons from portions of the 16S rDNA and RNA polymerase B genes failed to identify the mycoplasmas but showed that they were most similar to M. molare and M. lagogenitalium. These findings indicate a causal association between the novel Mycoplasma species and the newly recognized pulmonary disease. In 2007, in the state of Washington, USA, an outbreak of respiratory disease characterized by a dry, nonproductive cough was observed in 6- to 8-week-old ferrets at a US distribution center of a commercial pet vendor (video of a coughing ferret available at wwwnc.cdc.gov/EID/ article/18/11/12-0072-V1.htm). Numerous ferrets from the distribution center were later surrendered to a ferret rescue and shelter operation, where their cough continued for as long as 4 years
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