{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T19:19:46Z","timestamp":1792783186994,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785974400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785974400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"name":"Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Sassari","id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01bnjbv91","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Vet Res Commun"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    This study presents the development and large-scale field application of a real-time PCR assay designed for the detection of\n                    <jats:italic>Mycoplasma agalactiae<\/jats:italic>\n                    in bulk tank milk from dairy sheep farms. The assay demonstrated high analytical specificity and sensitivity, enabling reliable identification of low levels of target DNA typically present in bulk milk samples. Following analytical validation, the test was used to estimate within-herd prevalence and was applied in a regional surveillance program encompassing more than 900 sheep farms across Sardinia, Italy. The findings reveal widespread but often low-prevalence circulation of\n                    <jats:italic>M. agalactiae<\/jats:italic>\n                    within Sardinian flocks. The real-time PCR assay proved effective for identifying infected herds through a non-invasive, cost-efficient sampling matrix, underscoring its value as a practical tool for early detection and herd-level surveillance. This approach provides a scalable framework for monitoring contagious agalactia in areas with high densities of small-ruminant farms and supports the establishment of sustainable milk-based surveillance systems.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s11259-026-11445-4","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T09:27:57Z","timestamp":1786008477000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Real-time PCR\u2013based detection of Mycoplasma agalactiae in sheep bulk tank milk to support flock-level epidemiology"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"50","author":[{"given":"Carla","family":"Cacciotto","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tania","family":"Carta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Franca","family":"Mannu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rosanna","family":"Zobba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emanuela","family":"Bazzoni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ignazio","family":"Ibba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Danilo","family":"Muggianu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesco","family":"Turrini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marco","family":"Pittau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vincenzo","family":"Carcangiu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1708-9473","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alberto","family":"Alberti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"11445_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3833","DOI":"10.1128\/IAI.00040-11","volume":"79","author":"MF Addis","year":"2011","unstructured":"Addis MF, Pisanu S, Ghisaura S et al (2011) Proteomics and pathway analyses of the milk fat globule in sheep naturally infected by Mycoplasma agalactiae provide indications of the in vivo response of the mammary epithelium to bacterial infection. Infect Immun 79:3833\u20133845. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/IAI.00040-11","journal-title":"Infect Immun"},{"key":"11445_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"230","DOI":"10.1016\/j.smallrumres.2012.12.022","volume":"112","author":"A Agnone","year":"2013","unstructured":"Agnone A, La Manna MP, Sireci G et al (2013) A comparison of the efficacy of commercial and experimental vaccines for contagious agalactia in sheep. Small Rumin Res 112:230\u2013234. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.smallrumres.2012.12.022","journal-title":"Small Rumin Res"},{"key":"11445_CR3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"171","DOI":"10.1186\/1746-6148-8-171","volume":"8","author":"J Ariza-Miguel","year":"2012","unstructured":"Ariza-Miguel J, Rodr\u00edguez-L\u00e1zaro D, Hern\u00e1ndez M (2012) A survey of Mycoplasma agalactiae in dairy sheep farms in Spain. 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Bulk tank milk samples were collected as part of routine farm management and milk quality monitoring. No animals were handled or subjected to any procedures specifically for the purposes of this study; therefore, ethical approval for animal experimentation was not required.","order":1,"name":"Ethics","label":"Animal ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing or financial interests.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","label":"Competing interests","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}}],"article-number":"507"}}