THE PREVALENCE OF MORAXELLA BOVIS IN CLINICALLY NORMAL CATILE EYES: ITS SIGNIFICANCE TO INFECTIOUS BOVINE KERATO-CONJUNCTIVITIS
In a study to determine the prevalence of Moraxella bovis in clinically normal cattles eyes in the Maiduguri area of Nigeria, 35 adult cattle (70 eyes) and 25 calves (50 eyes) were sampled. Three each of the adult and young cattle making a total of 6 (5%) were positive for M.bovis (the aetiological agent of infections bovine Keratoconjunctivitis) out of the 120 eyes sampled. Branhamella catarrhalis, Branhamella mucosa and Escherichia coli were each isolated respectively, from 2 (1.6%) of the 120 samples. The other bacterial species isolated were Bacillus (5:4.2%), Corynebacterium (17; 14.2%), Streptococcus (9; 7.7%) and Staphylococcus (21/17.5%), could be regarded as commensals. The epidemiological implications of finding M. bovis in clinically normal cattle eyes are discussed.