A hyperemic moist eczematous syndrome was reported in Cattle and Buffales in Jhapa district of Nepal during month of September after prolong spell of drought followed by heavy rainfall causing water loging.A total 56 cattle and buffalo were affected and out of which 12 animal died.Rest of ill animal swere treated with 5%of Antidegnala liquor and Pentasulfate.Straw and Skin samples revealed Penicillium sp.Fungus.

Literature Review:

Facial eczema is a disease of sheep and cattle which occurs in warmer districts of the North Island during late summer and autumn and is responsible for serious production losses in some years. It is caused by a fungus, Pithomyces chartarum, which proliferates on dead plant material in pasture under warm, humid conditions. The minute spores of this fungus contain a substance, sporidesmin, which produces severe toxic effects in the liver. The appearance of livers of affected animals varies, according to the severity of the damage, from slight mottling with light patches to gross discoloration, distortion, and atrophy of large areas. Frequently the severely damaged portions are surrounded with new liver tissue. As a result of this damage the functions of the liver are impaired. Blockage of bile ducts may prevent the excretion of waste substances in the bile; for example, accumulation in the fat and skin of bile pigments, derived from the normal breakdown of old red corpuscles, produces the jaundice or yellow staining commonly seen in the carcasses of affected sheep. Of particular importance is the loss of ability to excrete the substance phylloerythrin. This is formed in the digestive tract of ruminants through the degradation of chlorophyll and is absorbed from the intestine and carried to the liver, where it is normally excreted in the bile. If this excretory mechanism is upset, phylloerythrin passes into the bloodstream which supplies the whole of the body. Phylloerythrin belongs to a class of flourescent pigments which are capable of making the skin sensitive to sunlight, causing reddening, intense itching, swelling, and scab formation. It is these effects, generally showing on the face of affected animals but also on other unpigmented skin exposed to light, such as the teats and udders of cows, which give rise to the popular name "facial eczema". These skin effects are, however, secondary to the much more serious impairment of liver function.

The fungus that produces the spores containing the sporidesmin toxin requires a number of environmental conditions to occur in order for it to survive and replicate. The fungus only grown on dead leaf litter, not green growing grass, and so the times of year when grass is dead or has a lot of dead litter at the base is in the Summer and Autumn. Topping of pasture will increase the amount of dead leaf litter at the base of the pasture. The other environmental conditions required by the fungus are a base grass temperature above 10 degrees celsius continuously for a period of 2-6 days, and a degree of moisture equivalent to 5mm rain. Heavy dews and high relative humidity can exert the same moisture requirement as rain itself.

Epidemiology

Animal factors

&bullsheep, cattle, deer susceptible

&bullhorses resistant

Plant/environmental factors

&bullfungus grows on the dead leaf litter of pasture

&bullmost frequent pasture is perennial rye grass, but can occur on other species

&bullrequires warmth and humidity to promote rapid fungal growth and sporulation

&bulltypical weather conditions involve autumn break rains after dry summer, several days of consistent warmth (TºC>15.5ºC) and high humidity (>80%)

&bullfungus concentrates toxin in spores which may be distributed throughout whole pasture sward

&bullmost toxic part of pasture is base of sward

Clinical Signs









&bullinitial dullness, lethargy and anorexia

&bullvariable onset of jaundice and photosensitisation .

&bullsome animals may die without either being observed

&bullphotosensitisation:

osheep - non wool skin including muzzle, ears, face, escutcheon

ocattle - non black pigmented areas including teats

odeer - generalised

&bullsome animals develop chronic ill-thrift

&bullsome progress to a hepatic encephalopathy

&bulldullness, depression

&bulltremor, recumbency

Necropsy





&bullskin lesions - photosensitization

&bullacute - swollen mottled liver

&bullchronic - severe hepatic fibrosis, nodular surface

&bullleft lobe often atrophied

&bullmarked fibrosis of bile duct

Diagnosis

&bullhistory

&bullclinical signs

&bullclinical pathology

&bullnecropsy

Treatment

&bull5% Anti Degnala liquor 5-10ml S/c or I/m for 4time in week alternate day

&bullPenta-sulphate 30-60g orally for 10 days

&bullsupportive therapy

Control

&bullmeteorological data allows prediction of potentially dangerous periods

&bullregional spore counting supplements above data

&bullon farm spore counting to identify dangerous pastures

&bullgraze

opastures with low spore counts

olong pastures for short periods

&bullalternative feeds - hay, silage, crops

&bullzinc oxide as a prophylactic

&bullbenzimidazole fungicides to inhibit fungal growth

&bullbreed for resistance

&bullvaccine development in progress