3.1.4: Farm animal dermatology Flashcards
Where are Chorioptes mites generally found?
- On and around the tail head
- Cases are generally self-limiting
What is the causative agent of sheep scab?
Psoroptes ovis (mite)
Clinical signs of biting lice
- Decreased BCS/ DLWG -> too busy itching to eat
- Damaged skins/ fleece damage and loss
- Pruritus
- Excoriation
- Severe infestations can result in anaemia
- Biting lice can look similar to sheep scab but sheep don’t itch as much as they do with scab
- May be asymptomatic
Lice in cattle
Bovicola bovis
* Commonest
* Chewing louse
* Found on head
Haemtopinnus eurysternus
* Sucking louse
* Found around the horns
Linognathus vituli
* Sucking louse
* Found around the head area
Images: hair loss, skin is not too erythematous
True/false: lice are very common and a concern for mixed-species farms.
False
* Lice are very common!
* However they are species-specific so not a concern for mixed species.
* Lice cannot live off the host. They are typically worst in winter when cows have thick coats. Sheep-shearing in summer decreases the population by 30-50%.
Diagnosis of lice
- Visual inspection - can be seen with the naked eye
- Direct microscopy of hair samples
How can you treat mites in cattle?
Options
* Pour-on synthetic pyrethroid e.g. deltamethrin - kills everything
* Pour-on group 3-ML anthelmintics e.g. ivermectin, doramectin, eprinomectin -> kills everything
* Injectable group 3-ML anthelmintics e.g. ivermectin, doramectin, eprinomectin -> removes all suckling lice and >98% biting lice
All cattle must be treated - treat at start of winter housing period.
Consider the impact on GI parasite resistance with these different options.
Deltamethrin is
a) a synthetic pyrethroid
b) a group 3-ML anthelmintic
c) a group 2-LV anthelmintic
a) a synthetic pyrethroid
Ivermectin, doramectin and epinomectin are all examples of:
a) Synthetic pyrethroids
b) Group 1-BZ anthelmintics
c) Group 2-LV anthelmintics
d) Group 3-ML anthelmintics
d) Group 3-ML anthelmintics
What options do you have for treating lice in sheep?
Options
* Pour-on synthetic pyrethroid e.g. deltamethrin, cypermethrin -> kills biting lice
* Organophosphate dips -> kills everything including humans so take care to ensure correct usage and PPE
Flies can act as vectors for which bacterial ocular disease in cattle? What is the causative agent?
Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK)
a.k.a. Pinkeye disease
* Causative agent = Moraxella bovis
* Vector: face fly, feeds on tears and rapidly spreads throughout herd
Clinical signs of IBK
- Corneal ulcers
- Oedema
- Lacrimation
- Opacity
- Epiphora
Treatment and control of IBK
- Antibiotics (oxytetracycline or penicillin): IM injection is equally as effective as subconjunctival
- NSAIDs (meloxicam)- very painful!
Control
* Fly control e.g. fly tags/ pour-on synthetic pyrethroids e.g. permethrin -> lasts for several months
What are Onchocerca and what are the clinical signs of infection? How do you treat this?
Onchocerca: thin, white worms found in the eye of cattle.
* Vectors: blackfly, Culicoides
* Causes ocular infection: acute oedematous necrosis to chronic granulomatous changes, marked fibrosis and mineralisation
* Treatment: systemic ivermectin + NSAIDs
* Not currently present in UK
Species of blowfly
- Lucilia spp
- Calliphora spp
- Phormia spp.
Risk factors for blowfly strike
- Climatic conditions (warm and wet)
- Breed susceptibility (heavy dense fleece)
- Wet or dirty fleece -> easy for larvae to survive (dirty fleece may be caused by PGE)