Isolation and properties of Mycoplasma from the respiratory tract of sheep with jaagsiekte in Kenya

Abstract

Sixteen isolates of Mycoplasma were recovered from 10 out of 14 sheep suffering from jaagsiekte. They were classified into three serological groups. The first consisted of fast growing non-fermenters, the second fastidious organisms partly fermenting glucose and other sugars and the third saprophytic Mycoplasma of the Laidlawii type. The type of colony formation on agar was a property of individual isolates and not of a serological group. The Mycoplasma recovered differed from a bovine pleuropneumonia vaccine strain and a strain of caprine pleuropneumonia used for comparison.