“It presents itself in a wide range of clinical manifestations, including mastitis and respiratory, ear and joint infections. Early diagnosis and treatment is critical with Mycoplasma bovis to prevent irreparable damage.”

Mycoplasma bovis is a slow-growing, very contagious infection that is easily spread throughout herds via nose-to-nose contact, contaminated water and feed, and even inhaled by calves as they suckle dams shedding the infection.

Symptoms can be similar to other BRD indicators, such as coughing, depression and fever, but also can include head tilt, ear droop and ocular and nasal discharge.

Recent data have shown that Mycoplasma bovis plays a larger role in respiratory and other infections in beef cattle than previously thought, with an estimated $32 million a year in damage to the United States beef industry, primarily through losses in weight gain and carcass value.

With this approval, Baytril® 100 (enrofloxacin) is now labelled and proven effective as a single-injection treatment for all major pathogens of BRD in cattle and non-lactating dairy heifers less than 20 months old, including Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, Histophilus somni and Mycoplasma bovis.