ANTIBODIES TO COWDRIA-RUMINANTIUM IN MOZAMBICAN GOATS AND CATTLE DETECTED BY IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE USING ENDOTHELIAL-CELL CULTURE ANTIGEN

Endothelial cell cultures, established from bovine umbilical cord arte ries and subsequently infected with Cowdria ruminantium, were used as antigen in the indirect fluorescent antibody test. Bovine sera (374) a nd caprine sera (388) collected in 6 provinces of Mozambique were test ed. Overall, 30.4% of goat sera had antibodies to Cowdria, and 43% of sera collected from cattle. North of the River Save, where the tick Am blyomma variegatum is highly prevalent, overall percentages of positiv e sera were low, 10% in goats and 20% in cattle. However, south of the river where the tick Amblyomma hebraeum is abundant percentages were much higher, 63.5% in goats and 59.4% in cattle. These results are dis cussed in relation to field observations that clinical disease is rare or absent in the north with enzootic instability in goats and Friesia n calves in the south.