Bacterial causative agents of conjunctivitis and keratoconjunctivitis in cattle, sheep and goat and survey of pathogenicity and immunogenicity of Moraxella species

ABSTRACT

Bacterial culture of eye secretion from bovine and ovine infected eyes was done during a period of three years [1992-1994]. Moraxella bovis [M. bovis] in bovine and Branhamella ovis [B.ovis] in ovine cases were the most isolates. M. bovis was isolated from 72 of a total of 132 bovine cases [54.54%]. The other isolations were staphylococcus sp., streptoccus sp. Pseudomonas aeroginosa and non pathogenic moraxella sp. In sheep and goat B ovis was isolate from 7 cases of a total of 17 [41%] and two cases were non pathogenic moraxella sp. This observation indicates the high incidence of pathogenicity of B. ovis in these animals however the mechanism of bacterial infection is still unknown. Since Chlamydia and rickettsiae are tought to be responsible for primary conjunctivitis two methods of staining were employed to observe these organisms in eye epithelial cell 1] Macchiavello staining and 2] modified Ziehl Nelson staining. Only two cases of cattle infected eyes showed chlamidial bodies with second staining method: