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                            Original Research
                            
                            
                            5. 
                            
                            Isolation and prevalence of Mycoplasma agalactiae in 
                            Kurdish sheep in Kurdistan, Iran -
                            
                            
                            Mohammad Khezri, Seyed Ali Pourbakhsh, Abbass 
                            Ashtari, Babak Rokhzad, Homan Khanbabaie
                            Vet World. 2012; 5(12): 727-731
              
               
              
              doi: 
              10.5455/vetworld.2012.72
7-731
              
              
               
              
              
              
   
 
              
               
               
               
              
              
              Abstract
              
              
                            Aim: 
                            Ruminant Mycoplasmosis are important diseases 
                            worldwide and several are listed by the World 
                            Organization for Animal Health (OIE) to be of major 
                            economic significant. The aim of this study was to 
                            isolation mycoplasmas from sheep presenting 
                            contagious agalactiae (CA) in Kurdistan in the West 
                            of Iran. 
              
                             Materials and Methods: Sixty-nine 
                            samples included (milk, conjuctiva swabs, synovial 
                            fluid and ear canal swabs) were examined by PCR 
                            assay during 2011-2012. DNA was extracted from 
                            enriched samples. Two primers (forward and reverse) 
                            amplify a 163bp region of 16S rRNA gene of 
                            Mycoplasma genus and two primers amplify 375bp 
                            region of 16S rRNA gene of Mycoplasma agalactiae (M. 
                            agalactiae) species were used. 
              
                             Results: This 
                            proved that 46 samples (66.7%) were infected with 
                            Mycoplasma in culture and PCR test, respectively. On 
                            the PCR test, 15 isolates (32.6%) examined were 
                            positive for M. agalactiae that showed specific 
                            amplicon at 375bp. All Mycoplasma positive samples 
                            were analyzed for M. agalactiae infection by PCR 
                            method and 31 isolates (67.4%) examined were 
                            negative for M. agalactiae. The finding of other 
                            mycoplasmas with significant epidemiology challenges 
                            existing plans for the control of CA in sheep 
                            population in Iran. Conclusion: The results 
                            of the present study show that M. agalactiae in CA 
                            disease in Kurdistan Province, 32.6% involved. In 
                            Iran, only M. agalactiae vaccines are commercially 
                            available, thus, the animals are not protected 
                            against these other species. 
              
                             Keywords: 
                            Contagious agalactiae, Iran, Mycoplasma agalactiae, 
                            PCR