The influence of micro-organisms on the severity of lesions in chronic ovine pneumonia

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Abstract
The degree to which histopathological lesions correlated with the numbers of M. ovipneumoniae and bacteria was studied in sixty 6 to 9 month-old lambs with chronic and subacute pneumonia slaughtered at a local meatworks. Large numbers of M. ovipneumoniae were associated with chronic proliferative changes such as peribronchiolar fibrosis and alveolar interstitial thickening. The combined effect of large numbers of M. ovipneumoniae and bacteria were associated with neutrophilic exudation and epithelial hyperplasia. However, lymphoid hyperplasia and excess mucus production were associated with low bacterial titres. There was no direct correlation between the numbers of M. ovipneumoniae and bacteria present in the pneumonic lungs.