Mycoplasma

Mycoplasmas are a type of bacterial poultry disease commonly divided into three main classifications.

Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG)

Commonly known as chronic respiratory disease (CRD) in chickens and infectious sinusitis in turkeys, MG diseases are characterized by respiratory rales, coughing, nasal discharge, and conjunctivitis, and frequently in turkeys, infraorbital sinusitis. MG is the most pathogenic and economically significant form of mycoplasma. It is not a public heath concern.

Mycoplasma meleangridis (MM)

A pathogen specifically of turkeys, MM is an egg-transmitted disease in which the primary lesion is an airsacculitis in the progeny. Economic losses associated by MM in turkeys have been primarily from egg-borne infections. During the early 1980s, when the prevalence of MM was high, the U.S. turkey industry saw losses of 9.4 million each year. The economic losses have been reduced substantially with the availability of MM-free eggs and poults. MM is not a public health concern.

Mycoplasma synoviae (MS)

MS infections are most likely to occur during an upper respiratory infection. It may cause air sac lesions when combined with Newcastle Disease, infectious bronchitis, or both. At other times, MS becomes systemic and results in chronic infectious disease of chickens and turkeys.

All three forms of Mycoplasma are contracted through bird-to-bird contact. It is primarily spread through airborne dust or contact with contaminated equipment.