Infectious keratoconjunctivitis in free-ranging mule deer in Wyoming: a retrospective study and identification of a novel alphaherpesvirus

Abstract

We describe the clinicopathologic findings, relative prevalence, and pathogens associated with infectious keratoconjunctivitis in mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus) in Wyoming. Seventeen cases with ocular lesions were identified among 1,036 mule deer postmortem submissions (1.6%) in an ~16 y period. Sixteen cases were observed in winter and most were in male (15 cases) and juvenile (13 cases) deer. Blindness was the most commonly reported clinical sign (10 cases). A herpesvirus was detected only in the 4 cases of bilateral necrotizing bulbar conjunctivitis. Phylogenetic analysis of glycoprotein amino acid sequences consistently identified this virus as a novel alphaherpesvirus. In 2 of these herpesvirus-positive cases, Actinomyces sp. and Moraxella ovis were also identified. Trueperella pyogenes was identified in 4 cases of unilateral ulcerative keratitis, keratoconjunctivitis, and panophthalmitis. M. ovis was cultured from 3 cases of bilateral conjunctivitis and keratoconjunctivitis. In the remaining cases, isolates included Moraxella bovis (1 case), Staphylococcus sp. and Streptococcus sp. (2), Flavobacterium sp. and Pseudomonas sp. (2), Escherichia coli and Enterobacter sp. (1), and bovine viral diarrhea virus 1 (1). No pathogens were identified in 2 cases. The relative prevalence of keratoconjunctivitis in mule deer in Wyoming appears to be low, and this disease is most commonly associated with infection by a novel alphaherpesvirus, T. pyogenes, and M. ovis.

Pathogenicity and Virulence of Trueperella pyogenes: A Review

“…Furthermore, T. pyogenes was also isolated as an etiological agent of chronic purulent infections, including keratoconjunctivitis, brain and foot abscesses, in other cervids, such as Key deer ( Odocoileus virginianus clavium ) [130], fallow deer ( Dama dama ) [53], roebuck ( Capreolus capreolus ) [131], red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) [132], and mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) [133]. T. pyogenes is a prevalent cause of variably located abscesses in forest musk deer ( Moschus berezovskii ), noted mainly in farm animals [40,134].…”

Applications of in vivo confocal microscopy in the management of infectious keratitis in veterinary ophthalmology

“…Nocardia and Actinomyces spp. have been isolated from cases of ocular surface disease in a variety of animal species including dogs, horses, and wildlife 19–22 . Actinomyces are filamentous bacteria related to Nocardia that might be detectable, with a similar basic morphology, by IVCM.…”

Wildlife–Livestock Host Community Maintains Simultaneous Epidemiologic Cycles of Mycoplasma conjunctivae in a Mountain Ecosystem

“…The obvious ocular lesions caused by IKC raise social concern, as wild mountain ruminants are ecologically, culturally, and economically relevant [7]. Conversely, despite sporadic case reports and seasonal local outbreaks, IKC seems to have a lower population impact in deer species, with mostly a rather unclear aetiology [3,[39][40][41][42]. Although M. conjunctivae has been detected and infectious keratoconjunctivitis outbreaks have been reported in domestic ruminants in North America, Asia, and Oceania [9,16,21,[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50], to the authors' knowledge, reliable data on M. conjunctivae prevalence in wild ruminants is scarce outside of Europe's main mountain ranges.…”