Exam 2: Dermatophilus, Nocardia, and Actinomyces Flashcards
What is Dermatophilus congolensis commonly called in cattle, goats, and horses?
Cutaneous streptothrichosis
What is Dermatophilus congolensis termed in sheep when the wooled areas of the body are affected?
Lumpy wool
What are 2 morphologic forms of Dermatophilus congolensis?
Filamentous hyphae and motile zoospores
What factors allow Dermatophilus congolensis to thrive?
Prolonged wetting by rain
High humidity
High temperature
Various ectoparasites
When do epidemics with Dermatophilus congolensis occur?
During the rainy season
What can spread an infection of Dermatophilus congolensis?
Shearing, dipping, introducing an infected animal into a herd or flock
What do zoospores of Dermatophilus congolensis do?
Germinate to produce hyphae, which penetrate into the living epidermis
What happens to the epithelium invaded by Dermatophilus congolensis?
It cornices and separates in the form of a scab
What do wet scabs do with Dermatophilus congolensis?
Enhances the proliferation and release of zoospores from hyphae
What is Dermatophilus congolensis most prevalent in?
The young animals chronically exposed to moisture and immunosuppressed hosts
What speeds the healing of infection from Dermatophilus congolensis?
Onset of dry weather
What are the primary economic consequences of Dermatophilus congolensis?
Damaged hides in cattle
Wool loss in sheep
Lameness and loss of performance in horses when severely affected around the pastern area
What are the 3 stages that lesions from Dermatophilus congolensis can be observed in cattle?
Hairs matted together as paint-brush lesions
Crust or scab formation as the initial lesions coalesce
Accumulations of cutaneous keratinized material forming wart-like lesions that are 0.5-2 cm
What do typical lesions from Dermatophilus congolensis consist of?
Raised, matted gifts of hair
What are chronic lumpy wool infections from Dermatophilus congolensis characterized by?
Pyramid-shaped masses of scab material bound to wool fibers
What are lesions from Dermatophilus congolensis on horses like?
Matted hair and paint-brush lesions leading to crust or scab formation with yellow-green pus present under larger scabs
What does histopathalogic exam of Dermatophilus congolensis reveal?
The characteristic branching hyphae with multidimensional spetations, coccoid cells, and zoospores in the epidermis
What are Dermatophilus congolensis organisms like in active lesions? Chronic lesions?
Usually abundant in active lesions
Sparse or absent in chronic lesions
What does the diagnosis of Dermatophilus congolensis depend on?
The appearance of lesions in clinically diseased animals and demonstration of Dermatophilus congolensis in stained smears or histologic sections from scaps
What is the most practical diagnostic test for Dermatophilus congolensis?
Cytologic examination of fresh crusts and/or impression smears of the underside of freshly avulsed lesions
How can Dermatophilus congolensis been seen?
Under oil immersion as 2-6 parallel rows of gram-positive cocci that look like railroad tracks
What antimicrobials is Dermatophilus congolensis susceptible to?
Erythromycin Spiramycin Penicillin G Ampicillin Chloramphenicol Streptomycin Amoxivillin Tetracyclines Novobiocin
How can chronic infections of Dermatophilus congolensis be cured?
With a single IM injection of procaine penicillin (22,000 IU/kg) and streptomycin (22 mg/kg)
How should lesions from Dermatophilus congolensis in horses be treated?
Theshould be gently soaked and removed
What is nocardia?
Gram-positive, strictly aerobic, nonmotile, pleomorphic, and nonsporeforming
Organisms in this genus mat take the form of rods, cocci, or diphtheroids, and they sometimes produce branching filaments and aerial hyphae
Most reduce nitrate, produce catalase, and oxidize sugars
Some are partially acid-fast
Where is nocarida commonly found?
Soil
Decaying vegetation
Compost
Other environmental sources