The causes of conjunctivitis and keratoconjunctivitis in 388 patients who attended eye casualty departments in Karachi, Pakistan, during a 5 month period were investigated. Most of these infections were diagnosed as adenovirus (291, 75%) or bacterial (71, 18.3%). Of the remainder, 9 cases (2.3%) were caused by herpes simplex virus and 7 (1.8%) by Chalmydia trachomatis. There was no evidence of typical active trachoma in this urban population. Bacteria or Candida albicans were also grown from 44 of the adenovirus cases (15%). Many of the bacteria grown from eyes in this study were resistant to antibiotics, probably because of inadequate and/or inappropriate self-medication with antibiotics in this community.

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The present study was performed in the Upazila Veterinary Hospital, Meghna, Comilla during the period from September 2006 to February 2007 to observe the prevalence of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in cattle at Meghna upazila in Comilla. A total of 253 skin diseased cattle head were examined in this study where 109 were males and 144 were females. The prevalence of FMD was 24.51% at Meghna upazila. The effect of age, sex, breed, season and farming system on the incidence rate of the disease was discussed. Seasonal variation on outbreak of this disease was significantly higher. The clinical prevalence of FMD was highest in the month of November (34.69%) and December (36.20%). The males (35.77%) were more susceptible than females (15.97%). The adult cattle (34.18%) were more susceptible compared to heifer (23.43%) and young (09.72%). In breed, 39.18% indigenous breeds and 15.38% crossed breeds were infected by FMD. So, it could be concluded that the rural farming system, adult, male and the indigenous cattle were more susceptible to FMD in winter season.

The study was conducted to isolate and identify E. coli from apparently healthy broilers and layers from different poultry farms adjacent to the Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh, during the period of January to May 2006 and characterize their ability to produce enterotoxin and also the antibiogram of the isolates. A total of 110 fecal samples were collected from broiler (n=55) and layer (n=55) chickens. E. coli were isolated and identified by cultural, biochemical, motility test and the heat-stable toxins were determined by Infant Mouse Assay (IMA). In case of broilers, 35 (63.6%) samples were found positive while 31 (56.4%) from layers. The overall prevalence of E. coli was 60%. Among the isolates of E. coli, 22.86% isolates from broiler and 38.71% isolates from layer were found positive for their ability to produce enterotoxin based on mice inoculation test. The antibiotic sensitivity pattern showed that the isolates were highly sensitive to chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, kenamycin and cephalexin and an increasing trend of resistance was recorded in both broiler and layer isolates. It may be concluded from the results of this study that the high resistance of E. coli to antibiotics constitutes a threat to poultry industry in Bangladesh.

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