Short communication an outbreak of acute bovine dermatophilosis in a large scale dairy herd in Kenya

Abstract

Dermatophilosis, caused by Dermatophilus congo/ensis, is a disease that affects mainly cattle, sheep, camels, horses and goats and occurs as an acute or chronic exudative skin disease1. Injury of the skin by insect and tick bites and thorny bushes accompanied by prolonged wetting are thought to be important predisposing factors1,2. Affected animals initially develop moist, round, circumscribed papules that later turn to scabs and crusts whose location is highly variable3,4. In tropical and subtropical areas, the disease can be epizootic and can result in considerable economic losses as a result of lost production, premature cuiling, treatment costs and downgrading of hides and skins 1,5. Although the clinical disease has been recognised in several African countries4,6,7,8 the occurrence of clinical disease in Kenya was only recently reported in three dairy cows in a zero grazing unit This case report describes an outbreak of acute bovine dermatophilosis in a large scale dairy herd and highlights that the disease in Kenya could occur in outbreak proportions and in clinically severe form as has been reported in other countries in West and Central Africa. We believe that this is the 1st documented outbreak of a severe form of bovine cutaneous dermatophilosis in exotic dairy animals in Kenya.