Here we describe an outbreak of bovine parasitic otitis on three ranches in the coastal region of Kenya. The unilateral or bilateral ear infection is initiated by the infestation of the nematode Rhabditis bovis, which eventually manifests as a secondary bacterial infection and/or larval myiasis leading to clinical symptoms and sometimes death of the affected cattle. Depending on the start period of the disease on each of the ranches, the number of animals affected varied from four to fifty percent. Physical examination of ears in early stages showed the Rhabitis worms as a ‘shimmering’ creamy white blob, which on removal showed beginnings of denudation of the mucosa. In later stages, purulent secretion with a liquefactive necrosis was observed following bacterial infections resulting in head shaking and/or banging causing death or early slaughter of some animals. Four hand-mixed drugs were applied as treatment, but were not effective for long periods since re-infestation from the sources led to reappearance of infection in the animals. The nematode is a free living worm found in soil or organic material, and suspected sources of infestations on the ranches were either the night enclosures or dirty dipping tanks. Consistent maintenance of cleanliness of these suspected sources was difficult, especially in the larger enterprises. A constant vigilance with rightly timed treatment and hygiene is necessary to prevent and/or control the disease.
Published in | Animal and Veterinary Sciences (Volume 10, Issue 4) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.avs.20221004.14 |
Page(s) | 104-108 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Cattle, Parasitic, Otitis, Rhabditis, Infestation, Infection, Bacteria, Myiasis
[1] | Jibbo, J. M. C., Bovine parasitic otitis. Bulletin of epizootic diseases of Africa, 1966. 14 (1): p. 59-63. |
[2] | Msolla, P., E. P. Matafu, and J. Monrad, Epidemiology of bovine parasitic otitis. Tropical animal health and production, 1986. 18 (1): p. 51. |
[3] | Duarte, E. R. and J. S. Hamdan, Otitis in cattle, an aetiological review. Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series B, 2004. 51 (1): p. 1-7. |
[4] | Anon, Annual Report, Department of Veterinary Services, Colony and Protectorate of Kenya. 1956. |
[5] | Anon, Annual Report, Department of Veterinary Services, Colony and Protectorate of Kenya. 1960. |
[6] | Anon, Annual Report. Department of Veterinary Services, Republic of Kenya. 1969. |
[7] | Anon, Annual Report, Department of Veterinary Services, Republic of Kenya. 1970. |
[8] | Anon, Annual Report, Department of Veterinary Services, Republic of Kenya. 1972. |
[9] | Whitlock, J. H., Diagnosis of veterinary parasitisms. Diagnosis of veterinary parasitisms., 1960. |
[10] | Campos, D. M., et al., A case of parasitism by Rhabditis sp in a child from Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil. Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical, 2002. 35 (5): p. 519-522. |
[11] | El-Azazy, O. M. E., H. M. El-Gawady, and M. S. Nada, The occurrence of Rhabditis (Rhabditella) axei in the faeces of a chicken in Egypt. Journal of helminthology, 1988. 62 (3): p. 219-220. |
[12] | Meamar, A. R., et al., The occurrence of severe infections with Rhabditis axei in AIDS patients in Iran. Journal of helminthology, 2007. 81 (4): p. 351-352. |
[13] | Rakhshanpour, A., et al., The morphological and morphometric study of Rhabditis axei from Atherurus macrourus (Asiatic Brush-Tailed Porcupine). Global Veterinaria, 2012. 8 (3): p. 305-307. |
[14] | Chitwood, B. G., The association of Rhabditis strongyloides with dermatitis in dogs. North American Veterinarian, 1932. 13 (6): p. 35-40. |
[15] | Saari, S. A. M. and S. E. Nikander, Pelodera (syn. Rhabditis) strongyloides as a cause of dermatitis – a report of 11 dogs from Finland. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 2006. 48 (1): p. 18. |
[16] | Yeruham, I. and S. Perl, Rhabditic dermatitis in a bull apparently caused by Pelodera strongyloides. Revue d elevage et de medicine veterinaire des pays tropicaux, 1998. 51: p. 121-122. |
[17] | Yeruham, I. and S. Perl, Dermatitis in a Dairy Herd Caused by Pelodera strongyloides (Nematoda: Rhabditidae). Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series B, 2005. 52 (4): p. 197-198. |
[18] | Odongo, M. O. and C. F. D'Souza, Prevalence and treatment of bovine parasitic otitis in Olkarkar group ranch of Kajiado district, Kenya. Bulletin of animal health and production in Africa. Bulletin de la sante et de la production animales en Afrique, 1989. 37 (2): p. 191-194. |
[19] | Martins Júnior, W., Rhabdits (Rhabditis) Freitasi/sp. n. e Rhabditis (Rhabditis) Costai/sp. n (Nematoda-Rhabditidae) isolados de otite bovina. Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz, 1985: p. 11-16. |
[20] | Barbosa, J. D., et al., Detecção e tratamento de otite por Rhabditis blumi em bovinos da região Norte do Brasil. Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira, 2016. 36 (7): p. 605-610. |
[21] | Ushewokunze-Obatolu, U., D. M. Pfukenyi, and T. Ushe, A retrospective epidemiological study of parasitic otitis in cattle in South-East Lowveld of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Veterinary Journal, 1999. 30 (1): p. 19-24. |
[22] | Sobral, S. A., et al., Rhabditis spp., in the Espírito Santo, State of Brazil and evaluation of biological control. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária, 2019 (AHEAD). |
[23] | Msolla, P., et al., Treatment of bovine parasitic otitis using ivermectin. Tropical animal health and production, 1985. 17 (3): p. 166-168. |
[24] | Sobral, S. A., et al., Association between Duddingtonia flagrans, dimethylsulfoxide and ivermectin for the control of Rhabditis spp. in cattle. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 2022. 54 (4): p. 198. |
[25] | Msolla, P., W. E. O. Mmbuji, and A. A. Kasuku, Field control of bovine parasitic otitis. Tropical animal health and production, 1987. 19 (3): p. 179-183. |
[26] | de Araújo Santos, F. G., et al., Parasitic otitis caused by Rhabditis (Rhabditis) freitasi (Nematoda: Rhabditidae) in the cattle Gir breed in the state of Acre. Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 2016. 38 (2): p. 116-120. |
[27] | Verocai, G. G., et al., Otite parasitária bovina por nematóides Rhabditiformes em vacas gir no estado do rio de janeiro, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária, 2007. 16 (2): p. 105-107. |
[28] | Abdalla, M., et al. Aspectos anatomo-patológicos da otite causada por Rhabditis sp. em bovinos no estado do Rio de janeiro, Brasil. in Congresso Brasileiro de Veterinária. 2016. |
[29] | Duarte, E. R., M. M. Melo, and J. S. Hamdan, Epidemiological aspects of bovine parasitic otitis caused by Rhabditis spp. and/or Raillietia spp. in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Veterinary parasitology, 2001. 101 (1): p. 45-52. |
[30] | Leite, R., et al., Otite parasitária por nematóides Rhabditiformes: aspectos epidemiológicos e clínicos. Rev Bras Med Vet, 1993. 15 (2): p. 49-51. |
APA Style
Suryakant Waghela, Zorro Kashmiri, Gideon Mwongela, Mohammed Fazil. (2022). A Case Report - Bovine Parasitic Otitis in Cattle of Taita-Taveta District, Kenya. Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 10(4), 104-108. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20221004.14
ACS Style
Suryakant Waghela; Zorro Kashmiri; Gideon Mwongela; Mohammed Fazil. A Case Report - Bovine Parasitic Otitis in Cattle of Taita-Taveta District, Kenya. Anim. Vet. Sci. 2022, 10(4), 104-108. doi: 10.11648/j.avs.20221004.14
@article{10.11648/j.avs.20221004.14, author = {Suryakant Waghela and Zorro Kashmiri and Gideon Mwongela and Mohammed Fazil}, title = {A Case Report - Bovine Parasitic Otitis in Cattle of Taita-Taveta District, Kenya}, journal = {Animal and Veterinary Sciences}, volume = {10}, number = {4}, pages = {104-108}, doi = {10.11648/j.avs.20221004.14}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20221004.14}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.avs.20221004.14}, abstract = {Here we describe an outbreak of bovine parasitic otitis on three ranches in the coastal region of Kenya. The unilateral or bilateral ear infection is initiated by the infestation of the nematode Rhabditis bovis, which eventually manifests as a secondary bacterial infection and/or larval myiasis leading to clinical symptoms and sometimes death of the affected cattle. Depending on the start period of the disease on each of the ranches, the number of animals affected varied from four to fifty percent. Physical examination of ears in early stages showed the Rhabitis worms as a ‘shimmering’ creamy white blob, which on removal showed beginnings of denudation of the mucosa. In later stages, purulent secretion with a liquefactive necrosis was observed following bacterial infections resulting in head shaking and/or banging causing death or early slaughter of some animals. Four hand-mixed drugs were applied as treatment, but were not effective for long periods since re-infestation from the sources led to reappearance of infection in the animals. The nematode is a free living worm found in soil or organic material, and suspected sources of infestations on the ranches were either the night enclosures or dirty dipping tanks. Consistent maintenance of cleanliness of these suspected sources was difficult, especially in the larger enterprises. A constant vigilance with rightly timed treatment and hygiene is necessary to prevent and/or control the disease.}, year = {2022} }
TY - JOUR T1 - A Case Report - Bovine Parasitic Otitis in Cattle of Taita-Taveta District, Kenya AU - Suryakant Waghela AU - Zorro Kashmiri AU - Gideon Mwongela AU - Mohammed Fazil Y1 - 2022/08/24 PY - 2022 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20221004.14 DO - 10.11648/j.avs.20221004.14 T2 - Animal and Veterinary Sciences JF - Animal and Veterinary Sciences JO - Animal and Veterinary Sciences SP - 104 EP - 108 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-5850 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20221004.14 AB - Here we describe an outbreak of bovine parasitic otitis on three ranches in the coastal region of Kenya. The unilateral or bilateral ear infection is initiated by the infestation of the nematode Rhabditis bovis, which eventually manifests as a secondary bacterial infection and/or larval myiasis leading to clinical symptoms and sometimes death of the affected cattle. Depending on the start period of the disease on each of the ranches, the number of animals affected varied from four to fifty percent. Physical examination of ears in early stages showed the Rhabitis worms as a ‘shimmering’ creamy white blob, which on removal showed beginnings of denudation of the mucosa. In later stages, purulent secretion with a liquefactive necrosis was observed following bacterial infections resulting in head shaking and/or banging causing death or early slaughter of some animals. Four hand-mixed drugs were applied as treatment, but were not effective for long periods since re-infestation from the sources led to reappearance of infection in the animals. The nematode is a free living worm found in soil or organic material, and suspected sources of infestations on the ranches were either the night enclosures or dirty dipping tanks. Consistent maintenance of cleanliness of these suspected sources was difficult, especially in the larger enterprises. A constant vigilance with rightly timed treatment and hygiene is necessary to prevent and/or control the disease. VL - 10 IS - 4 ER -