Isolation and Molecular Analysis of Mycoplasma mycoides Subspecies Mycoides from the Lungs of Sudanese Cattle with Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia

A study was conducted to examine cattle going through abattoirs in Sudan for evidence of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), an important cattle disease of sub-Saharan Africa. Approximately 0.6% of cattle showed lesions resembling CBPP but the causative pathogen, Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides, could only be isolated from a small number of these cattle suggesting inhibition of isolation by irresponsible antibiotic usage before slaughter or other pathogens causing CBPP-like lesions. However, the mycoplasmas that were isolated were genetically identical to strains previously isolated from Sudan.