Evaluation of the ability of tilmicosin to prevent adherence of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae to cilia using a differentiated swine respiratory epithelial culture system.

Mycoplasmal pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is a serious economic problem for swine producers in the United States. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae colonizes ciliated respiratory epithelial cells. The organism has been shown to be sensitive to tilmicosin, a synthetic macrolide, in antibiotic sensitivity assays. The efficacy of tilmicosin to inhibit adherence of M. hyopneumoniae to ciliated epithelial cells without direct contact between the antibiotic and the organism was evaluated using in vitro methods. The study demonstrated that tilmicosin inhibited the adherence of M. hyopneumoniae at the highest level tested in the system (2 microg/ml) suggesting that tilmicosin may be efficacious against mycoplasmal pneumonia.