Disorders of the Bovine Eye

Question 1

If you are presented with a cow that has an ulcer that reaches the edge of the sclera, what differential diagnosis will be higher on your list?

Answer 1

(Foreign body)

Question 1

If you are presented with a cow with unilateral, central ulcers of the eye, what are two possible infectious etiologies?

Answer 1

(IBK and listeriosis)

Question 2

What is the main worry associated with infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis?

Answer 2

(Weight loss associated with the pain of the eye lesion)

Question 3

(T/F) Pinkeye can be associated with decreased milk production in cows and therefore less growth in calves.

Answer 3

(T)

Question 4

What are the main ocular signs of pinkeye? Seven answers :).

Answer 4

(Epiphora, scleral injection, corneal edema, central corneal ulcer, and neovascularization; will also see photophobia and blepharospasm)

Question 5

What are the two types of pili that Moraxella bovis can have and what do those pili do?

Answer 5

(Q pili → enhance attachment of bacteria to corneal cells; I pili → local persistence and establishment of infection)

Question 6

What is the ocular treatment for pinkeye in cattle?

Answer 6

(Bulbar scleral injection with penicillin procaine g +/- dexamethasone)

Question 7

Finding SCC lesions on which two locations associated with the eye are often more aggressive?

Answer 7

(Nictitating membrane and lower eyelid)