What is Mycoplasma bovis?
Mycoplasma organisms cause some of the most serious and costly cattle diseases. Of these, Mycoplasma bovis seems to be the most common cause of clinical problems. Research has shown that Mycoplasma bovis is a major, but often overlooked pathogen, which causes respiratory disease, arthritis and mastitis in cattle. When it was first isolated in the U.S. in the 1960s, it seemed to occur infrequently, but now the infection has become widespread. Today, many cattlemen are seeing substantial rises in death rates and chronics from Mycoplasma bovis in beef cattle of all ages. Once established in a herd, it is almost impossible to eradicate.
