Spontaneous recovery may occur anytime in the course of the disease in mildly infected animals. The course of pinkeye can vary from one to six weeks. The means by which the disease progresses is not completely understood. It has been suggested that the bacteria produce an endotoxin that causes tissue damage to the eye, resulting in the typical lesions of the disease. M. bovis can be detected by fluorescent antibody techniques or bacterial culture and identification.
Differential diagnosis requires consideration of other diseases involving the eye.
These include trauma, minor irritation, malignant catarrhal fever, mycoplasma, and IBR virus infection. Treatment Early in the course of the disease, treatment under both upper and lower eyelids with ophthalmic solutions or ointments containing antibiotics may be beneficial. Antibacterial powders sprayed directly into the eye may cause irritation and discomfort to the animal and are not recommended. This period corresponds to the season of the year, in most cases, when flies are absent and no susceptible calves are present. Two injections of an effective vaccine the first year, followed by annual booster injections, could eliminate carriers of the bacteria Moraxella bovis from the herd.