engleski

Epizootiological and microbiological study of infectious ceratoconjunctivitis in sheep

Connected with the import of several thousand sheep from Australia and N Zealand in Croatia during 1995 a great number of native sheep that have been in contact with the imported animals acquired a severe ocular disease closely resembling OIKC. M. conjunctivae was isolated from 44 per cent and B. ovis from 56 per cent of microbiologically examined conjunctival swabs. For many resons most of the farmers ekiminated imported animals from their flocks and only sporadic cases of OIKC were recognised in 1996. By the end of 1997 all inspected flocks were clinacally free from OIKC. At this time conjunctival swabs were taken for microbiological examination from 63 animals originated from 6 previously infected flocks, and from 28 animals derivad from the flocks with no history of OIKC. The age of animals varied from several months to five years. All examined animlas were free from M. conjunctivae infection. Two Acheloplasma strains and two glucose- and arginin-negative mycoplasma isolates were ascertained in one flocks. B. ovis was cultured from 42, 9 per cent of examined animals from the flocks with previous history of OIKC. Heavy growth of B. ovis was generally associated with mild conjunctivitis. Independently of clinical signs of conjunctivitis this bacteria was isolated in a small number of colonies from the conjunctivas of only one animal derived from the flocks with no history of OIKC.

Ovine infectious keratoconjunctivitis; Mycoplasma conjunctivae

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