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This article was published in 1948
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INSTITUTE OF INSPECTORS OF STOCK OF N.S.W. YEAR BOOK.
Keratitis in Vealers following the use of Phenothiazine
G. CHARLES, B.V.Sc., Inspector of Stock, Carcoar.
Following the publication of the work of Whitten and Filmer (1947) a close watch has been kept for any similar occurrence in this District: and recently an outbreak was reported.
Forty vealers were running on a property in the District and they were not doing as well as the manager expected; a number of them being affected with a foetid black scour. Thinking that internal parasites might be the cause of the trouble, they were drenched with phenothiazine, using the dose recommended on the packet of drench, and each animal received approximately 1½ ounces of the drug.
Forty-eight hours later the herd was seen again, and it was found that seven of them showed a diffuse corneal opacity and intense lacrimation. Photophobia was also evident, the affected animals staying under a dense hawthorn thicket through which very little light could penetrate. Fourteen days after treatment three of the cases were showing signs of recovery, as evinced by a decrease in the amount of lacrimation and a clearing of the cornea. The other four cases appeared to be in much the same condition, and close inspection of the affected eyes showed the presence of small corneal ulcers.
The clinical picture coincides with that described by the above workers, and there would appear to be no doubt as to the cause of the condition. Incidentally, the manager's assumption of Trichostrongylosis appears to have been correct, as the scouring ceased within a few days of drenching, and the vealers have shown an improvement in bodily condition.
Reference:
Whitten, L. K. & Filmer, D. B. Aust. vet. J. 23 : 336.