Preliminary comparative studies on complement fixation, dot enzyme immunoassay, and western blotting for the detection of antibodies to Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides SC in Nigerian camel (Camelus dromedarius).

The serological prevalence of antibodies to Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC, the aetiological agent of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), was investigated in Nigerian camels. Fifty-eight serum samples were collected from slaughtered camels and examined by complement fixation (CFT), dot enzyme immunoassay and Western blots. Fourteen of the slaughtered camels examined had pneumonic lesions. All sera examined were negative by CFT but 7 (12.1%) and 4 (6.8%) were positive by dot enzyme immunoassay and Western blots, respectively. The serological evidence of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC in camels and its likely implication in the epidemiology of CBPP are discussed.