Comparison of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect hemagglutination (IHA) in experimental Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection of pigs.
Twenty-five hysterectomy-derived piglets were infected intratracheally at 16 days of age with a field strain of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Twenty uninfected piglets constituted the control group. Clinical symptoms were noted daily and sera collected weekly. The 45 pigs were killed from 1 to 20 weeks after infection. M. hyopneumoniae induced a temperature response, coughing and pneumonia. After 10 weeks, a noticeable regression of the macroscopic lung lesions was observed. The infection was followed by an antibody response, and the antibody titers reflected the disease stages. ELISA appears to be the most sensitive procedure to detect early and late antibody production.