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The presence of mycobacteria in salmonoid fishes was first recorded by Earp, Ellis, and Ordal (1) in 1953. Acid-fast bacilli had previously been reported from other cold-blooded animals including fishes of fresh-water and marine origin; recent reviews have been presented by Vogel (2) and Parisot (3). The initiation of an intensive search for bacteria of this group revealed their widespread distribution in salmonoid fish populations. Acidfast bacilli have been demonstrated in livers and kidneys of salmon and trout in Washington, Oregon, and California, as well as from salmon taken in Alaskan waters. While the organisms are generally considered to be associated with fish of hatchery origin (4), they have also been found in young and adult fish from areas presumably supporting only wild populations. Wood and Ordal (4) indicate that the incidence of the tuberculosis-like infection is directly related to the length of time the fish are reared in the hatchery prior to release. This may result from a common hatchery practice of feeding viscera and carcasses from spawned-out adults to juvenile fish. Therefore, in many instances viable mycobacteria are present in the food of young fish.
Tortoise mycoplasmosis is one of the most extensively characterized infectious diseases of chelonians. A 1989 outbreak of upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) in free-ranging Agassiz's desert tortoises ( Gopherus agassizii ) brought together an investigative team of researchers, diagnosticians, pathologists, immunologists and clinicians from multiple institutions and agencies. Electron microscopic studies of affected tortoises revealed a microorganism in close association with the nasal mucosa that subsequently was identified as a new species, Mycoplasma agassizii . Over the next 24 years, a second causative agent, Mycoplasma testudineum , was discovered, the geographic distribution and host range of tortoise mycoplasmosis were expanded, diagnostic tests were developed and refined for antibody and pathogen detection, transmission studies confirmed the pathogenicity of the original M. agassizii isolate, clinical (and subclinical) disease and laboratory abnormalities were characterized, many extrinsic and predisposing factors were found to play a role in morbidity and mortality associated with mycoplasmal infection, and social behavior was implicated in disease transmission. The translation of scientific research into management decisions has sometimes led to undesirable outcomes, such as euthanasia of clinically healthy tortoises. In this article, we review and assess current research on tortoise mycoplasmosis, arguably the most important chronic infectious disease of wild and captive North American and European tortoises, and update the implications for management and conservation of tortoises in the wild.