Raj. Nicholas et al., A COMPARISON OF SEROLOGICAL TESTS AND GROSS LUNG PATHOLOGY FOR DETECTING CONTAGIOUS BOVINE PLEUROPNEUMONIA IN 2 GROUPS OF ITALIAN CATTLE, Veterinary record, 139(4), 1996, pp. 89-93
Western and dot blotting techniques were compared with complement fixa
tion tests (CFT), indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA),
mycoplasma culture and gross lung pathology to detect Mycoplasma myco
ides subspecies mycoides SC, the cause of contagious bovine pleuropneu
monia (CBPP), in two groups of Italian cattle. None of the animals sho
wed any clinical signs before slaughter. In group A, seven of the 20 c
attle had characteristic lung lesions of acute and chronic CBPP but on
ly six were positive by CFT, Western blotting detected antibody in eig
ht of the animals, of which six had lesions and significant CFT titres
(>50 per cent fixation at a serum dilution of 1/10) and two had neith
er. In group B, seven of the 17 cattle had lesions characteristic of C
BPP, and 12 were seropositive by CFT, Western blotting detected antibo
dy in 13 of the animals including one which had a negative CFT titre.
The ELISA was less sensitive than either CFT or Western blotting, dete
cting antibody in five animals in group A and nine animals in group B,
The dot blotting test correlated web with Western blotting but gave a
small number of ambiguous results, The causative organism was isolate
d from four of the 20 cattle in group A and six of the 17 cattle in gr
oup B.