Immunisation of goats against contagious caprine pleuropneumonia using sonicated antigens of F-38 strain of mycoplasma.

Three groups of 15 goats each were immunised against contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) using sonicated antigens of the F-38 strain of mycoplasma incorporated in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA), emulsified in aluminium hydroxide and phosphate buffered saline respectively. Three months after immunisation, five goats from each group were challenged by the in-contact method. The goats immunised with the antigen incorporated in IFA were all solidly immune to the challenge whereas only two of five of the goats in the other two groups were protected. When the remaining 10 animals from each group were challenged six months after immunisation, those immunised with the antigen in IFA were still solidly immune while only two goats from each of the other two groups were protected. These results show that effective immunity against CCPP caused by the F-38 strain can be induced by vaccination with sonicated F-38 antigens emulsified in IFA.