Abstract
Keratoconjunctivitis in sheep causes severe ocular irritation thereby reducing the production performance thus causing economic loss to the farmers. Bacterial cause of keratoconjunctivitis in sheep may be due to Listeria monocytogenes, Moraxella ovis, Mycoplasma conjunctivae, etc. An investigation carried out at Tirupathur, Sivagangai district, Tamil Nadu, India revealed keratoconjunctivitis in sheep (population 100 animals). Isolation and identification of eye swabs from ailing animals (n = 5) showed that the bacteria was Moraxella sp. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the isolate was positive for Moraxella sp. Antimicrobial sensitivity testing of the isolate showed that it was sensitive to all antibiotics used in the study. This study reports the presence of Moraxella sp. infection in sheep warranting further studies to know the exact status of this organism so as to prevent keratoconjunctivitis in sheep.
Highlights
Ocular infections in farm animals can cause serious economic loss to farmers [1] [2] [3]
Bacterial cause of keratoconjunctivitis in sheep may be due to Listeria monocytogenes, Moraxella ovis, Mycoplasma conjunctivae, etc
This study reports the presence of Moraxella sp. infection in sheep warranting further studies to know the exact status of this organism so as to prevent keratoconjunctivitis in sheep
Summary
Ocular infections in farm animals can cause serious economic loss to farmers [1] [2] [3]. Affected animals usually recover within weeks but some remain infected for longer period and this can lead. Several bacterial species namely Listeria monocytogenes, Moraxella ovis, Mycoplasma conjunctivae, Chlamydophila pecorum, Coxiella burnetii, etc., were isolated from sheep affected with keratoconjunctivitis [3] [5] [7]. Moraxella bovis was attributed as the cause of infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) in cattle and later findings reported that another agent namely M. bovoculi was the cause of IBK in cattle [8]. M. bovis was reported from sheep but the frequency of its isolation is less [9]. From animals in India are scarce [10] [11] [12] and very recently a report of M. bovoculi in cattle was recorded by Karthik et al [13]. The present communication describes the isolation, biochemical and molecular characterization of Moraxella sp. from sheep in an organized sheep farm in India
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