Epidemiology of Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis (Pinkeye): A
Survey of Commercial Dairy Herds in Pakistan
Hadia Mubeen1, Muhammad Avais1, Jawaria Ali
Khan1, Muhammad Imran Rashid2, Muhammad Awais
Asif3, Muhammad Awais4 and Muhammad Zahid
Iqbal1
1Department
of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary and Animal
Sciences, Lahore-54000, Pakistan; 2Department of
Parasitology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences,
Lahore-54000, Pakistan; 3Vice Chancellor's Secretariat,
University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore-54000,
Pakistan; 4Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences,
University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore-54000, Pakistan
*Corresponding author:
mavais@uvas.edu.pk
Abstract
Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) commonly known as pinkeye is a
contagious non-fatal bacterial infection of the eye that has tremendous economic
impact on the dairy
industry. Nevertheless, it is a much-neglected dairy issue in Pakistan. The
current study was aimed to find out the prevalence and risk factors associated
with pinkeye infection in commercial dairy herds in Pakistan.
This study recruited 10,573 cows in 20 commercial dairy herds holding ≥25 cows
per herd. The cows were assessed based on eye lesions using a scale from 1 to 4,
with 4 being the most severe of all. Culture of subconjunctival swab samples was
also undertaken. The overall prevalence of pinkeye was 6.86% with
Holstein-Friesian breed being the most affected (7.25%) followed by crossbred
(6.89%) cattle. Cow hygiene and farm hygiene scores were indirectly related to
the prevalence of pinkeye. Prevalence was also significantly
(P<0.05)associated with
seasons of the year, being highest in humid summer months while lowest in
winter. The prevalence of pinkeye was significantly higher (<0.0001) in cows
exposed to sunlight than unexposed ones. Cows on farms performing farm
disinfection occasionally had 1.52 times higher odds of being diseased than cows
on farms with once-a-week disinfection. Likewise, cows on farms using no fly
control program had 2.8 times higher likelihood of pinkeye than those on farms
having fly control program. In addition, prevalence of pinkeye was significantly
higher (P<0.05) in cows with low body condition scores. It was concluded that
Pinkeye is a significant health concern in commercial dairy herds in Pakistan
and the risk factors influencing the prevalence of this disease may include cow
hygiene, farm management practices, and the environment.
To Cite This Article:
Mubeen H, Avais M, Khan JA, Rashid MI, Asif MA, Awais M and Iqbal MZ, 2024.
Epidemiology of infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (pinkeye): a survey of
commercial dairy herds in Pakistan. Pak Vet J.
http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2024.188