Chlamydial infection in animals

Chlamydophila pecorum

Treatment and control

In mammals, the intestinal excretion of chlamydiae shows similarities to that found in acutely or persistently infected avian species (Storz, 1988). Many cases of C. pecorum infection go undiagnosed. Where cases of chlamydial polyarthritis or conjunctivitis in sheep or cattle are identified, they can be treated with tetracycline at 200mg/day. This decreases the incidence of disease in a flock but does not prevent it, presumably because of reinfection from other animals. Where treatment is insufficient, relapse is likely to occur, which is difficult to distinguish from reinfection. In C. pecorum encephalytis of cattle, the surviving animals are slow to recover after treatment, suffering marked loss of condition (Harshfield, 1970).

No commercial vaccine is presently available for C. pecorum infections.

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