Porcine enzootic pneumonia, also known as mycoplasmal pneumonia, is a chronic respiratory disease of pigs caused by ''

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae ''Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae'' is a species of bacteria known to cause the disease porcine enzootic pneumonia, a highly contagious and chronic disease affecting pigs. As with other mollicutes, ''M. hyopneumoniae'' is small in size (400–1200 ...

''. It is part of the Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex along with Swine Influenza, PRRS and

Porcine circovirus Porcine circovirus (PCV) is a group of four single-stranded DNA viruses that are non-enveloped with an unsegmented circular genome. They are members of the genus '' Circovirus'' that can infect pigs. The viral capsid is icosahedral and approxim ...

2, and even though on its own it is quite a mild disease, it predisposes to secondary infections with organisms such as '' Pasteurella multocida''. Clinical signs are most commonly seen in pigs over 8 weeks of age, and the disease occurs worldwide.

Transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...

is horizontal and vertical from sows.

Clinical signs and diagnosis

Pigs usually cough and may show more severe respiratory signs if secondary bacteria have invaded. This may lead to signs of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

and systemic involvement. Diagnosis relies on

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

and isolation of the bacteria but this can be challenging.

PCR PCR or pcr may refer to: Science * Phosphocreatine, a phosphorylated creatine molecule * Principal component regression, a statistical technique Medicine * Polymerase chain reaction ** COVID-19 testing, often performed using the polymerase chain r ...

ELISA The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay uses a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence ...

, fluorescent antibody testing and post-mortem findings all help in making the diagnosis.

Treatment and control

Tiamulin Tiamulin (previously thiamutilin) is a pleuromutilin antibiotic drug that is used in veterinary medicine particularly for pigs and poultry. Tiamulin is a diterpene Diterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of four isoprene units, o ...

, chlortetracycline or

tilmicosin Tilmicosin is a macrolide antibiotic. It is distributed under the brand name Micotil. It is used in veterinary medicine for the treatment of bovine respiratory disease and enzootic pneumonia caused by ''Mannheimia (Pasteurella) haemolytica'' in sh ...

may be used to treat and prevent the spread of the disease.

Vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

is a very effective method of control, and also has an effect on pig productivity. Eradication of the disease is possible but the organism commonly reinfects herds.

References

{{cite web, title=Enzootic Pneumonia - Pigs - WikiVet English, url=https://en.wikivet.net/Enzootic_Pneumonia_-_Pigs, publisher= WikiVet, accessdate=2018-03-10, date=3 August 2011 Mollicutes Swine diseases Mycoplasma