Mycoplasma is often treated as “background” in many production systems. But in this interview, a veterinary professor makes a sharp economic point: the global impact of mycoplasma is likely underestimated, partly because in high-prevalence regions it becomes “accepted” rather than measured.

A key challenge is benchmarking. When a pathogen is widespread, it can be difficult to find a true mycoplasma-negative reference group to compare performance against. That makes losses harder to quantify and easier to ignore — even when they continue to erode productivity and increase health costs.

In the conversation, recorded during the 3rd Regional Animal Health Symposium hosted by Fatro - Güneşli Animal Health, Prof. Dr. Naola Ferguson suggests the true global impact is at least in the millions — and potentially in the billions of dollars, once you consider the cumulative effects across regions, species, and production cycles.

The interview also addresses a critical operational question: How effective are drugs against mycoplasma? The answer is nuanced. Some drugs can be highly effective initially, but antibiotic resistance may develop quickly, meaning a product can work for a short period and then lose effectiveness within one to two years. Meanwhile, other drugs may remain useful longer, but their efficacy can decline gradually over time — making outcomes difficult to predict without strong monitoring and strategy updates.

Watch the full exclusive interview on the official The Animal Economics YouTube channel.

What you will learn in this interview:

• Why mycoplasma’s economic impact is often under-counted
• Why the lack of a “clean negative baseline” hides real losses
• Why drug performance varies — and how resistance changes the game
• Why effectiveness can fade slowly, making it hard to evaluate in the field

Key quotes

“The economic impact… is underestimated in many parts of the world.”

“There’s nothing that is like a mycoplasma-negative to compare.”

“Millions, definitely — maybe even billions of dollars.”

“Resistance can develop very quickly… and you have to try something else.”