Efficacy of citric acid and sodium hypochlorite as disinfectants against Mycoplasma bovis

• Published in: Veterinary microbiology 2020-04, Vol.243, p.108630-108630, Article 108630
• Main Authors: Mahdizadeh, Sara, Sawford, Kate, van Andel, Mary, Browning, Glenn F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acids; Citric acid; Disinfectant; Disinfectants; Disinfection & disinfectants; Economic importance; Infectivity; Mastitis; Mycoplasma bovis; Odors; Sodium; Sodium hypochlorite
• ISSN: 0378-1135; 1873-2542
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2020.108630

•Efficacies of disinfectants against Mycoplasma bovis were assessed.•0.5 % citric acid is an effective disinfectant against Mycoplasma bovis.•0.25 % citric acid is effective in the absence of organic material.•0.04 % hypochlorite is effective only in the absence of organic material. Mycoplasma bovis, a cattle pathogen of major economic importance across the globe, causes a range of diseases, including pneumonia and mastitis. Because of the limited options for effective treatment of these diseases, prevention and control are preferred to diagnosis and treatment. In this study, the efficacies of citric acid and sodium hypochlorite as disinfectants against M. bovis were tested using a modification of a standardised method for assessing the efficacy of disinfectants against bacteria. A citric acid concentration of 0.5 % was found to be an effective disinfectant, reducing infectivity by close to 106 fold, while sodium hypochlorite at 1% was found to have similar efficacy to 0.5 % citric acid. A 0.04 % concentration of sodium hypochlorite was effective against M. bovis only in the absence of any organic material. Under these conditions, 0.25 % citric acid found to have similar efficacy. These findings indicate that 0.5 % citric acid or 1 % sodium hypochlorite are likely to be effective disinfectants for M. bovis under field conditions and 0.04 % sodium hypochlorite or 0.25 % citric acid are likely to be effective following removal of organic material.