Mycoplasma Prevention

Mycoplasma organisms are susceptible to most chemical disinfectants making them easy to eliminate by using disinfectants when birds are absent. If a flock is positive for either Mycoplasma there are a few steps that can be taken to eliminate the problem.

1. Depopulate. Clean and disinfect buildings and equipment.
2. Insure MG- and MS-free replacement pullets by requesting a lab report to certify the birds' status.
3. Ensure delivery is done using clean trucks, clean crates, and clean personnel.
4. Employees should have no contact with other poultry.
5. Don't travel from barn to barn without a change of footwear or using a foot bath, especially if one barn is infected.
6. Keep infected barns isolated from clean or non-infected barns.
7. Go from youngest to oldest flocks, unless the younger birds are infected.
8. Practice strict farm security and allow NO visitors in your poultry barns other than service personnel who wear clean coveralls and foot wear.
9. Don't allow feed truck drivers or other service vehicle drivers in the barn.
10. Use one age group of birds per barn.
11. Try to arrange sale of eggs in a totally separate building or room, other than the hen house door.
12. Use clean, disinfected egg flats and don't mix trays or flats of infected and uninfected barns.
13. There should be reasonable barn separation.
14. Insure good ventilation throughout the pen to reduce stress of stale or high ammonia air.
15. Control rats, dogs, cats and wild birds that can carry disease from barn to barn.

Adequate prevention and control programs are expensive, but economic losses due to reduced feed and egg production efficiency and increased medication cost make them necessary. Good management techniques, isolation, and sanitation reduce the opportunity for all diseases to enter the flock.