Pathological and molecular diagnosis of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) in naturally infected goats (Capra hircus) from Maharashtra, India

Mycoplasma capricolum subspecies capripneumoniae (Mccp) causes contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP), a serious, economically important, WOAH (World Organisation for Animal Health) listed, acute, and highly contagious respiratory disease, in goats. Despite, the presence of CCPP has been previously reported in India, the current study confirms the presence of the disease in the state of Maharashtra, India. Clinical signs like fever, lethargy, anorexia, nasal discharge, coughing and respiratory distress followed by death (within 3–7 days if illness) with varying severity and duration were recorded in the affected goats. DNA was extracted from lung tissue collected from suspected cases and PCR was performed using primers specific for 16S rRNA gene of Mycoplasma spp. The agarose gel electrophoresis of PCR product revealed the presence of bands of expected size (278 bp) indicating positive amplification. The nucleotide sequence analysis of PCR amplicons showed 100% identity with 16S rRNA gene of Mccp isolate 033C1 (Accession No. LT578418.1) and AMRC-C758 (Accession No. LT578418.1). Additionally, specific anti-mycoplasma treatment was given to ailing animals and recovery was observed. These data confirms the presence of CCPP in Maharashtra state, adding information about disease spreading in the region. Further, it warrants the need of surveillance study on CCPP to investigate risk of the disease in goat population of Maharashtra state, India.