ACTINOMYCOSIS (LUMPY JAW)

It is a chronic infectious disease clinically manifested by rarefying osteomyelitis and localised or systemic pyogranulomatous lesions.

Aetiology- Actinomyces bovis- cattle

Host range- common in cattle and occassionally seen in sheep, horse, goat, pig

Chronic actinomycosis is seen in dogs

Mode of transmission-

  • Gets entry by wounds of buccal mucosa
  • Young calves with eruption of teeth
  • Adult hunting breed of dogs are commonly affected
  • In swine mammary gland injury due suckling by piglets leads to entry of bacteria
  • In horse leads to poll evil and fistulous wither

Clinical signs

  • Cattle- jaw bones- painless bony swelling over the mandible and maxilla on the level of central molar teeth
  • Bones becomes enlarged, rarefying and spongy
  • Teeth become loosened
  • Cavities of spongy bones gets filled up with pus
  • Development of sinus and honey like mucoid and purulent yellowish granulated pus discharges are seen
  • Involvement of maxilla and mandible result in difficulty in prehension and mastication, improper digestion and loss in general health.
  • When soft tissues are involved orchitis and abscess in brain and lungs are seen.
  • Horse- poll evil and fistulous wither are seen
  • Pig- granulomatous lesions are seen in mammary gland
  • Dog- fever, emaciation, lethargy and dyspnoea are seen
  • Actinomycosis in throat cavity causes cough and dyspnoea
  • Actinomycosis in abdominal cavity causes distension of abdomen due to fluid and abscess.
  • Cutaneous form of actinomycosis is also reported in dogs.

Diagnosis-

  • from clinical signs and physical examination.
  • By staining of discharged pus- discharge of sulphur granule pus which is made up of clumped organisms
  • Culture of discharged pus on anaerobically on blood agar, brain heart infusion agar, sabouraud's agar. It appears as small, smooth, round convex, opaque colonies on surface of the agar plate.
  • Agar gel precipitation test by taking capsular antigen.
  • Differential diagnosis-

Abscess

Wooden tongue

Bottle jaw

Foreign body

Tumours

Treatment

  • Drainage of sinus
  • Potassium iodide- 4- 8gms daily orally for 7-10 days
  • Sodium iodide- 1g per 12 kg bwt intavenously once
  • Isoniazide- 20mg per kg bwt for 100 days

Or

Penicillin- cattle- 12000 iu per kg bwt

Or

Ceftriaxone- 5-10 mg per kg bwt

Prevention and control-

  • Affected animals should be isolated and treat separately
  • Animals should be fed with soft palatable diet