230
Observations on a Contagious Karatitis of Indian Sheep
PATHOLOGICAL ANATOMY
Coles [1933] called the disease an 'Irido-cyclitis'
and Australian workers have named it as an oph-
thalmia. The present writers have not investigated
the changes inside the eye-ball, although they
certainly occur during acute stages of the disease.
In the absence of more definite information about
changes in the deeper tissues we prefer to call the
disease a 'keratitis' after its most obvious mani-
festation.
TREATMENT
In most cases the disease is benign and the
affected animals recover without treatment. We
have, however, found the keeping of affected
animals in a dark stable and the use of a collyrium
containing 1 per cent zinc sulphate and 2 per cent
boric acid, quite beneficial. The keeping of
affected animals in dark stables does not only
obviate the trouble due to photophobia but also
keeps away the flies, thus reducing chances of fur-
ther spread of the infection.
THE DISEASE IN OTHER ANIMALS
At the Hissar Farm, animal species other than
sheep, i.e. cattle, goats, equines, camels, etc. are
also kept at no great distance from sheep, but this
disease (or an affection similar to it) has not been
observed to occur among them, with the possible
exception of cattle. In cattle one occasionally
observes outbreaks of a mild conjunctivitis cha-
racterized by congestion of the conjunctiva and
profuse lacrymation from one or both eyes. There
is, however, no keratitis or opacity of the cornea.
This disease has also been observed in some other
districts of the Punjab and is locally known as
dhalka. We have not examined conjunctival
scrapings from these cases in cattle but have
repeatedly looked for worms (Thelazia rhodesi)
in the lacrymal/sac with negative results. It is
possible that this disease is also a rickettsial infec-
tion. The disease is, however, very much milder,
than in sheep and European cattle,
Coles [1936] and Donatien and Lestoquard [1937,
2] have found a variety of R. conjunctivae in the
eyes of cattle and Coles [1935 and 1940] has
described a similar organism from goats and fowls.
Edgar [1931] was unable to transmit the disease
from sheep to horses, cattle, goats, pigs, rabbits
and guinea-pigs.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Before concluding, we wish to express our grati-
tude to Mr J. S. Garewal, I.V.S., Principal, Punjab
Veterinary College, Lahore, for laboratory faci-
lities and to Mr Gurbux Singh, L.V.P., for assis-
tance in transmission experiments.
REFERENCES
Coles, J. D. W. A. (1931, 1). 17th Rep. Dir. Vet. Serv. &
Anim. Ind., Union of S. Africa, 175-86
Coles, J. D. W. A. (1931, 2). 17th Rep. Dir. Vet. Serv. &
Anim. Ind., Union of S. Africa, 187-9
Coles, J. D. W. A. (1933). Vety. Rec. 45, 165-6
Cordier, G. and Menager, J. (1937). Bull. Soc. Path.
exot. 30, 224-7
Donatien, A. and Lestoquard, F. (1937, 1). Bull. Soc. Path.
exot. 30, 18-20
Donatien A. and Lestoquard, F. (1937, 2). Bull. Soc.
Path exot. 30, 451-2
Donatien, A. and Lestoquard, F. (1938). C. R. Acad.
Sci. Paris 206, 1057-8
Donatien, A. and Lestoquard, F. (1939). Rev. Med. Vet.
90 123-5
Edgar, G. (1931). Dept. Agric. N. S. Wales, Vet. Res. Rep.
6, 22-35
Hopkirk, C. S. M. (1934). New Zealand J. Agric. 48, 224-5
Johnson, L. V. (1938). Proc. Soc. exp. Biol., N. Y. 38,
42-3
Lafenetre, H. (1938). Rev. Med. Vet., Toulouse 90,
323-4
Malbrant, R. (1939). Bull. Soc. Path. exot. 32, 907-8
Nicolas, E. (1914). Vet. and Comp. Ophthalmology,
London (English translation).
Pigoury, L. (1937). Bull. Soc. Path. exot. 30, 621-4
Repiquet (1879). Journal de Lyon, 1879 (quoted by
Nicolas, 1914)
Viera, O. and Castelo, M. (1940). Rev. Med. Vet. B. Aires
22, 30-43
Note. Since writing of the above, one of the authors
has seen an outbreak of the disease in a flock of Lohi sheep
at Shahdara near Lahore and several stray cases in the
clinic of the Punjab Veterinary College, Lahore,