Salpingitis in geese associated with Mycoplasma sp. strain 1220

An outbreak of disease in a White Rhine laying goose flock was characterized by increased water uptake, increased mortality, production of eggs with abnormal shells, a 25% drop in egg production and 40% embryo mortality. Affected dead or sacrificed birds had sero-fibrinogranulocytic peritonitis and salpingitis, infiltration of the lamina propria in the uterus and heterophil granulocytes in the isthmus and magnum of the oviduct. Mycoplasmas, mainly identified as Mycoplasma sp. strain 1220, were isolated from the airsac, liver, ovary, magnum and peritoneum of some affected geese. Strain 1220 was originally isolated from a Hungarian gander with phallus inflammation and, according to detailed biochemical and serological examinations, it is expected to represent a new avian species within the genus Mycoplasma.