title: Serological testing of cattle experimentally infected with Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides Small Colony using four different tests reveals a variety of seroconversion patterns.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To study the specific antibody response to infection with Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides Small Colony (MmmSC), the agent of Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), we examined three panels of sera collected during three experimental infection trials in African cattle. The methods used included an in-house complement fixation test (CFT), a commercially available CFT, a competitive antibody ELISA (cELISA) and the immunoblotting test (IBT). In addition, lung tissue samples were examined by culture.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 89% (51/59) of all experimentally infected animals tested positive on at least one of the serological tests throughout the trial. The specific antibody titres to the MmmSC infection became positive first by CFT (6 to 9 days post infection [dpi]), followed by IBT (9 to 13 dpi) and cELISA (13 to 16 dpi). Individual animals were found to display remarkably distinct seroconversion patterns, which allowed their classification into i) early high responders, ii) late high responders, and iii) low responders. In accordance with other studies, none of the present serological tests was capable of detecting all CBPP infected animals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Comparison of the assays' performance in terms of sensitivity and specificity raises serious questions as to their reliability for identification of infected individuals in the field. In view of these limitations, a combination of CFT and cELISA can markedly improve CBPP diagnosis at single-animal level.
authors.affiliation: National Reference Laboratory for CBPP, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (Federal Research Institute for Animal Health), Naumburger Strasse 96a, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schubert
authors.forename: Konrad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sachse
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jores
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000382:microbiology; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D003168:Complement Fixation Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D015151:Immunoblotting / Q000662:veterinary; D008168:Lung / Q000382:microbiology; D009176:Mycoplasma mycoides; D011002:Pleuropneumonia, Contagious / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000662:veterinary
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