Detection of Mycoplasma agalactiae antigen in sheep and goats by monoclonal antibody-based sandwich ELISA

A preliminary epidemiological survey was carried out to find out whether contagious agalactia of sheep and goats was present in herds in the Czech Republic or Jordan. A total of 99 animals were examined for the presence of Mycoplasma agalactiae antigen: there were 64 animals from the Czech Republic and 35 from Jordan. All Jordanian animals showed signs of clinical disease. Biological materials for examination included 353 swabs (133 from sheep and 220 from goats) collected from conjunctival, nasal and vaginal mucosae and the external ear canal. A monoclonal antibody-based sandwich ELISA was used to detect the antigen. The results were positive in 11 animals, ambiguous in 10 animals and negative in the rest of them (78). They confirmed our assumption that the Czech Republic is still free from contagious agalactia of sheep and goats but demonstrated that Jordanian herds of small ruminants are infected with Mycoplasma agalactiae.