Experimental infection of goats with an unusual strain of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri isolated in Jordan: comparison of different diagnostic methods.

Ten goats were experimentally infected with a Mycoplasma identified by biomolecular methods as Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri, strain Irbid which was isolated from goats in an outbreak of contagious agalactia in north Jordan and defined as 'unusual', due to its serological characteristics. Two groups of goats infected by the endotracheal route and by aerosol, respectively, were placed in contact with a third group of naive animals. Six weeks after infection, some animals from both the infected and contact groups presented fever and nasal discharge, followed by severe respiratory signs and polyarthritis. Organs were taken from animals that died during the trial or those that were sacrificed at the end of the trial. The results of microbiological isolation and immunohistochemical tests conducted on the organs were compared after a description of the clinical picture and anatomopathological and histopathological signs.