Fluorescent antibody technique to detect Cowdria ruminantium in in vitro-cultured macrophages and buffy coats from cattle, sheep, and goats.

Fluorescent antibody tests, Giemsa stain, and electron microscopy were used to detect colonies of Cowdria ruminantium in in vitro-cultured macrophages and buffy coats from heartwater-infected cattle, sheep, and goats. Antibodies were obtained from C ruminantium-infected cattle, sheep, and goats treated with a small dose of oxytetracycline HCl. Cowdria ruminantium elementary bodies were small-coccus forms (0.14 micron) and large-coccus forms (0.22 micron to 0.6 micron). The size of inclusion bodies varied from 1.5 micron to 2 micron. Inclusion bodies and elementary bodies were observed in the cytoplasm of macrophages and neutrophils.