Evaluation of brush cytology (cytospin technique) and cultural results in the diagnosis of keratoconjunctivitis in a goat herd

Abstract

Summary:In this study, cytological examination of smears prepared with cytospin and bacteriological isolation from the samples taken with cytobrush from corneal surface of goats with keratoconjunctivitis were evaluated. An outbreak of infectious keratoconjunctivitis, which is particularly affecting kids, was determined in a herd of Saanen goats consisting of 200 animals (120 kids and 80 goats) that located in Bursa province between 2011 and 2012. One hundred and twenty kids were affected severely in this occurrence whereas approximately 10% of the mothers were affected. In clinical examinations, lacrimation and mucopurulent ocular discharge were observed in the kids. In the advanced stages of the illness, the most remarkable lesion was severe corneal edema, which is characterized by opacity and vascularizaton. Although the clinical signs started to appear solely in one eye, both eyes of all the kids were, generally, become affected whereas the mothers had unilateral ocular lesions. The mortality rate in kids reached up to 20% even though they received treatment. All of the infected mothers recovered after treatment. Ocular brush samples were randomly taken from 30 kids for cytological and microbiological examinations.Conjunctival brush samples were examined with cytospin technique to determine whether cellular features can be utilized for cytodiagnosis. The epithelial cells collected with cytobrush were deposited onto poly-L-lysine coated slide glasses by cytocentrifuge. Slides were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE). All of the brush samples were cultivated at 37 °C under aerobic conditions for microbiological investigations. The suspicious colonies were selected and subcultured for phenotypical tests. The susceptibility of isolates to the antibiotics was determined via disc diffusion method. In cytological examinations, the commonly encountered cell types in eyes with keratoconjunctivitis were neutrophils with or without bacteria located intracellularly as well as eosinophils, lymphocytes and macrophages. Extracellular bacterial clusters were also observed in some cases. Brush cytology samples taken from eyes with corneal ulcers showed significant reactive cellular changes. The most common bacteria isolated and identified were Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli with the rates of 61.11, 50 and 47.22% respectively. All isolated strains had different susceptibility to various antibiotics. Seventy of 120 treated kids recovered within a week but the disease recurred in some of them (n=40). As a result, microbial culture and cytospin preparation of ocular surface samples can contribute for identification of keratoconjunctivitis. This is the first report with regard to the occurrence of keratoconjunctivitis in Saanen goats. Moreover, this study is of importance because cytospin technique can be used to aid in the rapid diagnosis and follow up surveillance of the ocular diseases.

Panophthalmitis in a Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis Papua) From The Antarctic Peninsula: Evaluation of Microbiological and Histopathological Analysis Outcomes

“…In the present study, based on strong TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-4 and MMP-9 immunopositivity having been detected in the in ammatory cells, it was considered that the indicated cytokines and enzyme could have accompanied the development of the granuloma in the eye diagnosed with mixed bacterial infection. The microorganisms isolated from the eyes of a Gentoo penguin chick in the present study differ from those reported to have been isolated from the eyes of mammals and exotic birds in previous studies ( Silvanose et al 2001;Cullen, 2003;Bonelli et al 2014;Cakir et al 2014;Sala et al 2016). Furthermore, the microorganisms isolated in the present study have been determined to differ from the bacteria reported to have been detected in freshwater samples from the same location (Jara et al 2020).…”

“…S7). In agreement with the ndings of previous reports for cytospin slides prepared from samples of animals with keratoconjunctivitis (Cakir et al 2014), the present study revealed the presence of binucleated epithelial cells.…”

“…S7). In agreement with the ndings of previous reports for cytospin slides prepared from samples of animals with keratoconjunctivitis(Cakir et al 2014), the present study revealed the presence of binucleated epithelial cells.The presence of binucleated cells is considered as an indicator of reactive changes in areas of severe chronic in ammation. On the other hand, the cytological analysis of the sample taken from the left eye of the same animal demonstrated normal ocular surface cells, similar to descriptions made in previous literature reports(Bolzan et al 2005;Athanasiou et al 2018).…”