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ACTINOMYCOSIS (LUMPY JAW)

Actinomyces bovis

Actinomycosis
a chronic granulomatous disease of cattle and pigs

and rarely in sheep and horses. It is caused by Actinomyces bovis which is an obligatory parasite in the mucous membrane of the mouth and pharynx. Infection occurs following injury with a sharp object or hard feed pieces to the oral mucosa.

Actinomyces spp
normal flora of the oral and nasopharyngeal

mucous membranes. Members of the genus Actinomyces are grampositive, non-acid-fast rods, many of which are filamentous or branching. It has also been isolated from nodular abscesses in the lungs of cattle and from infrequent infections in sheep, pigs, dogs, and other mammals. jaw is a chronic, progressive, indurated, granulomatous, suppurative abscess that most frequently involves the mandible, the maxillae, or other bony tissues in the head.

Disease is seen when Abovis is introduced to

underlying soft tissue, via penetrating wounds of the oral mucosa from wire or coarse hay or sticks. Involvement of adjacent bone frequently results in facial distortion, loose teeth (making chewing difficult), and dyspnea from swelling into the nasal cavity. The colonization of the wound by A. bovis triggers a granulomatous inflammation that primarily affects the jaw, resulting in osteomyelitis.

commonly known as "lumpy jaw" or "big jaw,"

usually involves the bones of the head, particularly the lower jaw. Actinomycotic infections of the softer tissues occur in cattle but are rare. Large, pus-filled tracts or cavities (abscesses) form when the infection spreads through the bone. Connective and other body reparative tissues in and near the bone grow abundantly in an attempt to wall off the abscess. By the time the infection has extended from the bone to the soft tissue and skin to establish a fistula or drain for the lesion, the involved parts of the jaws may be enlarged 2 or 3 times.

Fistulas from abscesses of the bones of the head

sometimes extend inward and discharge into the pharynx or mouth. The palate and gums next to the bones often are swollen and inflamed. The teeth may loosen. Small, hard, yellowish granules, called "sulfur granules" or "rosettes," are present as tiny grains in the pus from abscesses of both actinomycosis. They are barely visible to the unaided eye.

Diagnosis
can be based on clinical signs alone, but

demonstration of gram-positive rods in yellowish sulfur granules from aspirated purulent material bacteriologic culture and histopathology, are confirmatory. The organism appears as long filaments, rods, and cocci in exudate from active lesions.

Antemortem findings:
Painful swelling of the maxilla and mandible

(lumpy jaw); rarely in feet. Suppurative tracts in the granulation tissue breaking towards oral cavity or skin Ulceration of cheeks and gums and wart like granulations outward on head Difficult breathing and salivation Loss of weight Diarrhoea and bloat

Postmortem findings:
Lesions in the mandible (Lumpy jaw) or maxilla
Granulomatous lesions in lower part oesophagus

or anterior part of the reticulum Local peritonitis Mild abomasitis and enteritis

Treatment
rarely successful in chronic cases in which bone is

extensively involved, due to poor penetration of antibacterial agents into the site of infection. In less advanced cases, penicillin may be effective. Systemic treatment with potassium iodide has been used successfully in the past, but is no longer recommended due to food safety issues.

Judgement:
Carcass of an animal affected with active

progressive inflammatory lesions of actinobacillosis in lymph nodes and lung parenchyma is condemned. Condemned material should be sent to authorized rendering plant. If the disease is slight and confined to lymph nodes, the head and tongue and whole carcass are approved after the condemnation of lymph nodes. If the tongue is diseased and no lymph nodes are involved the head and carcass are approved. The tongue is condemned.

Differential diagnosis:
Tooth infection

impacted food
bone injury neoplasms

osteomyelitis

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