Moredun Scientific - Development of an experimental model of Mycoplasma hyopneumonia infection in pigs.

The project is focussed on the problem of enzootic pneumonia in pigs which is a major
economic concern to the global pig industry. It is a multifactorial syndrome caused by the
interactions of several pathogens as well as environmental, management and genetic factors.
Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is the primary pathogen contributing to the disease.
The aim of the project is to develop an experimental model of M.hyopneumonia infection in piglets which mimics a natural respiratory infection and would enable the efficacy and safety testing of improved candidate vaccines and therapeutic drugs to protect against and treat the disease.
The organism is challenging to culture and there are no validated models of the disease
commercially available to the animal health industry, the development of an effective model would be a significant benefit to the industry.
The model would be offered to global animal health companies on a contract research basis to the required quality standard of Good Laboratory Practice.