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M. BOVIS, REPEAT OFFENDER

If that was me, I’d be quick to cut my hair short, dye it gray, grow a distracting moustache and change my clothes. That’d throw the heat off for a while. The “known associates” part may be a bit harder to manage.

Mycoplasma bovis behaves similarly. Like all pathogens, M. bovis “wears” distinctive antigen proteins on its cell surface. When the animal’s immune system recognizes those antigens as potentially dangerous, it circulates the suspect’s description and recruits antibodies to apprehend it. But M. bovis is trickier than most microbes. It can switch which antigens it displays – it can change its clothes. This delays the immune system from recognizing it and allows M. bovis to continue its crime spree throughout the animal, potentially resulting in chronic pneumonia and arthritis.

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Heatwaves, Hay, and Hiccups On The Farm!

Video: Heatwaves, Hay, and Hiccups On The Farm!

We’re "Just Fed Up" on today’s episode of our daily sheep farming vlog here at Ewetopia Farms. This video spans several days of trying to keep things running smoothly in the face of yet another relentless heat wave. The intense heat and humidity made work in the barns and fields extremely difficult for both us and our flock. With soaring temperatures, the sheep refused to go outside to graze and struggled to breathe in the heavy air.