---

🐾 4th Year Veterinary Medicine - Complete Topic Explanations (Simple Language)

---

🔴 SKIN DISEASES

1. Dermatitis

• What it is: Inflammation of the skin (skin becomes red, itchy, swollen)
• Types: Allergic, contact, parasitic, bacterial
• Animals: All species (dogs, cattle, horses)
• Key Signs: Redness, hair loss (alopecia), oozing, crusting
• Treatment: Remove cause + antihistamines + topical/systemic antibiotics

2. Pruritis (Itching)

• What it is: Sensation that causes an animal to scratch, rub, or bite itself
• Causes: Parasites (mites, fleas), allergy, fungal infection
• Exam tip: Pruritus is a SYMPTOM, not a disease by itself - always find the cause

3. Scabies (Mange)

• Cause: Sarcoptes scabiei mite (burrowing mite)
• Animals: Dogs, pigs, horses, cattle
• Transmission: Direct contact (zoonotic - can spread to humans!)
• Signs: Intense itching, crusty lesions on ears, elbows, face, generalized in severe cases
• Diagnosis: Skin scraping + microscopy
• Treatment: Ivermectin, Amitraz wash, Selamectin

4. Demodicosis - Canine & Feline

• Cause: Demodex canis (dogs), Demodex cati (cats) - these mites live in hair follicles
• NOT contagious - mites are normal flora, disease occurs when immunity is low
• Types:
  • Localized: Small patches on face/legs - often self-limiting
  • Generalized: Whole body - serious, needs treatment
• Signs: Non-pruritic hair loss (alopecia), secondary bacterial infection (pyoderma)
• Diagnosis: Deep skin scraping
• Treatment: Amitraz dip, Ivermectin, Milbemycin; treat underlying immunosuppression

5. Otodectic Mange

• Cause: Otodectes cynotis mite
• Animals: Cats (most common), dogs, rabbits
• Signs: Head shaking, ear scratching, dark brown waxy discharge in ear canal
• Diagnosis: Otoscope + microscopy of ear discharge
• Treatment: Selamectin, Ivermectin ear drops, clean ear canal

6. Dermatophytosis (Ringworm)

• Cause: Fungal (Dermatophytes) - Microsporum canis, Trichophyton spp.
• Zoonotic: Yes - can spread to humans!
• Signs: Circular areas of hair loss with scaling, not always itchy
• Diagnosis: Wood's lamp (fluorescent green), fungal culture (gold standard), KOH preparation
• Treatment: Griseofulvin (oral), Ketoconazole, Miconazole shampoo

---

🔵 EAR DISEASES

7. Otitis Externa, Interna, Media

• Causes: Bacteria (Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus), yeast (Malassezia), mites, foreign bodies
• Treatment: Ear cleaning + topical antibiotics/antifungals; severe cases need systemic antibiotics

---

🐄 CATTLE DISEASES

8. Mastitis (+ Mastitis Control Program)

• What it is: Inflammation of the udder (mammary gland)
• Most important disease of dairy cattle economically
• Causes: Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, E. coli
• Types:
  • Peracute: Sudden, severe - cow collapses, gangrenous udder
  • Acute: Hot, swollen, painful udder; abnormal milk
  • Subclinical: No visible signs but SCC (somatic cell count) is high, reduced milk production
• Diagnosis: California Mastitis Test (CMT), SCC, culture
• Mastitis Control Program (5-Point):
  1. Post-milking teat dipping
  2. Dry cow therapy (antibiotic at drying off)
  3. Treat clinical cases promptly
  4. Cull chronic cases
  5. Maintain milking machine hygiene

9. Bovine Ephemeral Fever (3-Day Sickness)

• Cause: Bovine Ephemeral Fever Virus (Rhabdovirus) - vector-borne (insects)
• Signs: Sudden high fever, stiffness, reluctance to move, drooling, nasal discharge - recovers in 3 days
• Key Feature: Self-limiting (most recover) but causes production losses
• Treatment: NSAIDs (Flunixin), supportive care, calcium if recumbent

10. Capture Myopathy

• What it is: Muscle damage due to extreme stress/exertion during capture of wild animals
• Also called: Stress myopathy, Exertional myopathy
• Cause: Extreme muscle exertion → lactic acid buildup → muscle fiber death
• Animals: Wild animals (deer, zebra, antelope), also exotic captures
• Signs: Stiffness, dark urine (myoglobinuria), weakness, sudden death
• Prevention: Minimize stress during capture; use chemical restraint properly
• Treatment: Sodium bicarbonate (correct acidosis), rest, fluids, Vitamin E + Selenium

---

💊 NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCY DISEASES

11. Vitamin Deficiency Diseases - Water-Soluble Vitamins

12. Fat-Soluble Vitamins (A, D, E, K)

• E+Se (Vitamin E + Selenium): Work together - deficiency causes white muscle disease

---

🫘 KIDNEY & URINARY DISEASES

13. Urinary System - Cystitis

• What it is: Inflammation of the urinary bladder
• Animals: Dogs, cats most common
• Causes: Bacteria (E. coli, Staphylococcus), uroliths (stones), fungi
• Signs: Frequent urination, straining (dysuria), blood in urine (haematuria), licking genitals
• Diagnosis: Urinalysis, urine culture, ultrasound
• Treatment: Antibiotics based on culture, increase water intake, urinary acidifiers if struvite stones

14. Nephritis

• What it is: Inflammation of the kidney
• Types:
  • Glomerulonephritis: Immune-mediated, protein in urine
  • Interstitial nephritis: Bacterial (leptospirosis common cause)
  • Pyelonephritis: Ascending infection from bladder
• Signs: Polyuria/polydipsia (PU/PD), vomiting, weight loss, bad breath (uremia)
• Diagnosis: BUN, creatinine elevated; urinalysis; ultrasound
• Treatment: Fluids, antibiotics, phosphate binders, special renal diet

---

🐐 SMALL RUMINANT / GOAT-SHEEP DISEASES

15. PPR (Peste des Petits Ruminants)

• Also called: Goat plague, Kata
• Cause: Morbillivirus (similar to Rinderpest virus)
• Animals: Goats and sheep (NOT cattle)
• Notifiable disease (OIE listed)
• Signs: High fever, nasal/ocular discharge, mouth ulcers (stomatitis), diarrhea, pneumonia, death
• Mortality: Up to 80-100% in naive populations
• Diagnosis: AGID, ELISA, PCR
• Treatment: No specific treatment - supportive + antibiotics for secondary infections
• Prevention: Live attenuated vaccine (Nigeria 75/1 or Sungri 96 strain)

16. CCBP (Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia)

• Cause: Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae
• Animals: Goats specifically
• Signs: Severe pneumonia, respiratory distress, pleurisy, very high mortality
• OIE listed (notifiable)
• Treatment: Tylosin, Oxytetracycline

17. CCPP (Contagious Caprine Pleuro-Pneumonia)

• Note: CCBP and CCPP are often used interchangeably in Indian veterinary exams - refer to your syllabus for the specific causative agent distinction

18. Blue Tongue Disease

• Cause: Orbivirus (Reovirus family) - transmitted by Culicoides midges (insect vector)
• Animals: Sheep most severely affected; cattle are reservoir hosts (subclinical)
• Signs: High fever, swollen face/lips/tongue, BLUE TONGUE (due to cyanosis), coronitis (hoof inflammation), death
• Diagnosis: AGID, ELISA, virus isolation
• Treatment: Supportive only
• Prevention: Vaccination (modified live or killed), vector control

---

🫀 CARDIAC DISEASES

19. Cardiac Arrhythmias and Their Therapeutics

• Exam tip: Lidocaine is the first-line drug for ventricular arrhythmias; Digoxin is for atrial fibrillation rate control

---

🦠 BACTERIAL DISEASES

20. Anthrax

• Cause: Bacillus anthracis (spore-forming bacterium)
• Zoonotic: Yes (humans can get it from infected animals)
• Animals: Cattle, sheep, goats, horses
• Signs: Peracute death (often found dead with no signs), bloody discharge from orifices, failure of blood to clot
• Key feature: DO NOT do post-mortem (autopsy) - spores form on contact with air and contaminate the environment
• Diagnosis: Blood smear staining (McFadyean stain - "jointed bamboo rod" capsule appearance)
• Treatment: Penicillin G (high dose)
• Prevention: Sterne's spore vaccine

21. Glanders (✓ on your list)

• Cause: Burkholderia mallei
• Animals: Horses, mules, donkeys
• Zoonotic: Yes (serious in humans)
• Notifiable disease; eradication policy in India
• Types:
  • Nasal: Nodules and ulcers in nasal passages
  • Pulmonary: Lung nodules, coughing
  • Cutaneous (Farcy): Nodules along lymphatics ("farcy buds")
• Diagnosis: Mallein test (intradermal/ophthalmic), CFT, culture
• Treatment: NO TREATMENT ALLOWED in India - affected animals slaughtered

22. Strangles (✓ on your list)

• Cause: Streptococcus equi subsp. equi
• Animals: Horses (especially young horses)
• Signs: High fever, thick yellow-green nasal discharge, lymph node abscess (submandibular and retropharyngeal)
• Name "Strangles" comes from the enlarged lymph nodes that can obstruct the airway
• Complication: Bastard strangles (abscess in internal organs), purpura hemorrhagica
• Treatment: Penicillin + drain abscesses; sometimes supportive care only
• Prevention: Vaccination available

23. Ulcerative Lymphangitis

• Cause: Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (or Burkholderia pseudomallei in some forms)
• Animals: Horses, cattle
• Signs: Painful swelling along lymphatic vessels of legs, ulcerating nodules with creamy pus
• Treatment: Penicillin, Trimethoprim-sulfa

24. Classical Swine Fever (Hog Cholera)

• Cause: Pestivirus (Flaviviridae)
• Animals: Pigs only
• Notifiable (OIE listed)
• Signs: High fever, skin hemorrhages (button ulcers in intestine), conjunctivitis, neurological signs, high mortality
• Diagnosis: ELISA, virus isolation, PCR
• Treatment: None - control by slaughter (stamping out)
• Prevention: C-strain live attenuated vaccine

25. Tetanus (Lockjaw)

• Cause: Clostridium tetani toxin (Tetanospasmin)
• Animals: Horses most susceptible; also sheep, cattle, dogs
• Mechanism: Toxin blocks inhibitory neurons → sustained muscle contraction
• Signs: Muscle rigidity ("sawhorse stance"), trismus (locked jaw), erect ears, prolapsed third eyelid in horses, opisthotonus, death from respiratory failure
• Treatment: Tetanus antitoxin (TAT), Penicillin G (to kill bacteria), sedation (ACP, Diazepam), dark quiet environment
• Prevention: Tetanus toxoid vaccine (TT)

26. Clostridial Diseases - BQ (Blackquarter)

• Cause: Clostridium chauvoei
• Animals: Cattle (young cattle 6 months - 2 years most affected), sheep
• Signs: Sudden lameness, hot crepitating (gas-filled crackling) swelling on shoulder/thigh muscles, high fever, death within 12-36 hours
• "Blackleg" - affected muscle is black and dry
• Diagnosis: Clinical signs, fluorescent antibody test on muscle tissue
• Treatment: Penicillin (if caught early) - usually too late
• Prevention: Blanthax or Convexin-8 vaccine

27. Clostridium perfringens Infection (Enterotoxaemia)

• Cause: Clostridium perfringens Types A, B, C, D, E
• Most important Type D = "Pulpy Kidney Disease" or Overeating Disease in sheep/goats
• Animals: Sheep, goats, calves, lambs
• Mechanism: Overeating carbohydrates → C. perfringens multiplies → epsilon toxin → kidney damage
• Signs: Sudden death, convulsions, pasty diarrhea, "pulpy" soft kidneys at autopsy
• Treatment: Antitoxin + Penicillin
• Prevention: Vaccination (Enterotoxaemia vaccine)

28. Fowl Typhoid (✓)

• Cause: Salmonella gallinarum
• Animals: Poultry (adult birds mostly)
• Signs: Green/yellow droppings, lethargy, pale comb, sudden drop in egg production, swollen liver/spleen
• Diagnosis: Culture, RBPT (Rose Bengal Plate Test)
• Treatment: Enrofloxacin, Chloramphenicol (banned for food animals in many countries)
• Control: Cullling affected birds, biosecurity

29. Pullorum Disease (✓)

• Cause: Salmonella pullorum
• Animals: Young chicks (hatchlings to 3 weeks)
• Signs: White pasty droppings ("white diarrhea"), chicks huddle under heat, high mortality in chicks; adults are asymptomatic carriers
• Transmission: Egg-transmitted (transovarian)
• Diagnosis: Rapid whole blood test (RWBT) / Tube agglutination test
• Control: Test and slaughter policy, vaccinate breeders

30. Fowl Cholera

• Cause: Pasteurella multocida
• Animals: Chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese
• Types:
  • Peracute: Sudden death with no signs
  • Acute: Fever, green/yellow droppings, swollen wattles, nasal discharge
  • Chronic: Swollen wattles (fowl cholera "wattle disease"), torticollis
• Treatment: Sulphonamides, Oxytetracycline
• Prevention: Killed bacterin vaccine

31. CRD (Chronic Respiratory Disease)

• Cause: Mycoplasma gallisepticum (primary) + E. coli (secondary)
• Animals: Poultry (chickens, turkeys)
• Signs: Nasal discharge, tracheal rales (rattling breathing sound), air sac lesions ("rattling birds"), decreased egg production
• Diagnosis: HI test, ELISA
• Treatment: Tylosin, Erythromycin, Tetracyclines
• Control: SPF (specific pathogen free) flocks, biosecurity

---

🦠 VIRAL DISEASES

32. Haemorrhagic Septicaemia

• Cause: Pasteurella multocida Type B:2 (Asia), E:2 (Africa)
• Animals: Cattle and buffaloes (buffaloes more susceptible)
• Signs: Sudden high fever, swelling of throat/neck (oedematous form), difficulty breathing, death within 24-72 hours
• Diagnosis: Culture, ELISA
• Treatment: Oxytetracycline (if caught early)
• Prevention: Oil-adjuvant killed vaccine; mandatory in India for cattle

33. FMD (Foot and Mouth Disease)

• Cause: Aphthovirus (Picornaviridae) - serotypes O, A, C, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3, Asia1
• Animals: All cloven-hoofed animals (cattle, pigs, sheep, goats)
• Zoonotic: Very rare in humans
• Notifiable - OIE list A disease
• Signs: High fever, vesicles (blisters) on tongue/gums/lips/feet/teats, excessive salivation ("ropy" saliva), lameness
• Diagnosis: ELISA, CFT, virus isolation
• Treatment: Supportive (no specific treatment); antibiotics for secondary bacterial infections
• Prevention: FMD Pentavalent vaccine (O, A, C, Asia1 + one SAT type) - given twice yearly in India

34. Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

• Cause: Influenza A virus - subtypes H5N1 (HPAI - highly pathogenic), H9N2 (LPAI - low pathogenic)
• Animals: Poultry, wild birds; zoonotic - H5N1 kills humans
• HPAI Signs: Sudden mass death, swollen/dark comb and wattles, hemorrhages, respiratory distress, neurological signs
• LPAI Signs: Respiratory signs, drop in egg production
• Diagnosis: VI (virus isolation), PCR, HI test
• Control: Slaughter (stamping out) + biosecurity + ban on poultry movement - NO vaccination policy in India for HPAI

35. Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis (FVR)

• Cause: Feline Herpesvirus Type 1 (FHV-1)
• Animals: Cats
• Signs: Sneezing, nasal discharge, conjunctivitis, corneal ulcers, fever, oral ulcers
• Latent infection: Virus hides in ganglia; reactivates with stress
• Treatment: Supportive + antibiotics for secondary infection; Lysine supplement; Famciclovir (antiviral)
• Prevention: Part of the "FVRCP" cat vaccine (core vaccine)

---

🧬 TICK-BORNE / BLOOD-BORNE DISEASES

36. Ehrlichiosis

• Cause: Ehrlichia canis (dogs), Ehrlichia ruminantium (cattle/heartwater)
• Vector: Ticks (Rhipicephalus sanguineus - brown dog tick)
• Signs: Fever, thrombocytopenia (low platelets - bleeding), anemia, lymph node enlargement, weight loss
• Diagnosis: Blood smear (morulae in monocytes/neutrophils), ELISA, PCR
• Treatment: Doxycycline (drug of choice - 4 weeks minimum)

37. Anaplasmosis

• Cause: Anaplasma marginale (cattle), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (dogs, horses)
• Vector: Ticks
• Signs in cattle: Severe hemolytic anemia (red blood cell destruction), jaundice (icterus), fever, weakness, pale mucous membranes; NO hemoglobinuria (unlike babesiosis)
• Exam tip: No red urine distinguishes from Babesiosis!
• Diagnosis: Blood smear (marginal inclusions in RBC), ELISA
• Treatment: Oxytetracycline, Imidocarb dipropionate

38. Avian Spirochetosis

• Cause: Borrelia anserina
• Vector: Argasid ticks (Argas persicus - fowl tick)
• Animals: Poultry (chickens, turkeys, geese)
• Signs: Fever, drowsiness, diarrhea (green), loss of appetite, paralysis of wings/legs, high mortality
• Diagnosis: Darkfield microscopy, blood smear
• Treatment: Penicillin, Chlortetracycline

---

🌿 ZOONOTIC DISEASES

39. Leptospirosis

• Cause: Leptospira interrogans (many serovars)
• Reservoir: Rats (maintenance host), cattle, dogs
• Zoonotic: Major public health concern
• Transmission: Contact with urine of infected animals, contaminated water
• Signs in animals: Abortion storms (cattle), hemolytic anemia, jaundice, nephritis, "red water fever" in cattle
• Signs in dogs: Acute kidney failure, jaundice, hemorrhagic gastroenteritis
• Diagnosis: MAT (Microscopic Agglutination Test) - gold standard; PCR, dark-field microscopy
• Treatment: Penicillin G (acute), Doxycycline (chronic carrier elimination)
• Prevention: Leptovax vaccine in cattle and dogs

40. Salmonellosis

• Cause: Salmonella spp. (many serovars - S. typhimurium, S. dublin, S. enteritidis)
• Zoonotic: Yes - major food safety concern
• Animals: All species
• Signs: Acute diarrhea (sometimes bloody), fever, septicemia in young animals, abortion in cattle
• Diagnosis: Culture (gold standard)
• Treatment: Trimethoprim-sulfa, Ampicillin (based on sensitivity)
• Control: Biosecurity, vaccination for cattle

41. Listeriosis

• Cause: Listeria monocytogenes
• Zoonotic: Yes - serious in pregnant women, immunocompromised people
• Animals: Sheep, goats, cattle (also rabbits, pigs)
• Forms:
  • Encephalitic form: "Circling disease" - head tilt, walking in circles, facial paralysis
  • Septicemic form: Young animals - sudden death
  • Reproductive form: Abortion
• Trigger: Silage feeding (especially poorly fermented silage - "silage disease")
• Treatment: High-dose Penicillin or Ampicillin
• Exam tip: Listeria is the only bacterium that moves inside cells using actin rockets

---

🐴 EQUINE DISEASES

42. Swine Erysipelas

• Cause: Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae
• Animals: Pigs; also turkeys and other birds
• Zoonotic: Yes (causes erysipeloid in humans - skin wound infection)
• Signs:
  • Peracute: Sudden death
  • Acute: "Diamond skin disease" - diamond/rhomboid-shaped red raised skin lesions, fever, lameness
  • Chronic: Endocarditis (heart valve vegetations), arthritis
• Diagnosis: Culture, ELISA
• Treatment: Penicillin G (drug of choice); antiserum for acute disease
• Prevention: Killed bacterin or live attenuated vaccine

---

🦟 PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

43. Preventive Medicine - Terminologies

44. Estimation of Disease - Pattern, Monitoring, Surveillance & Quarantine

• Disease Pattern: Spatial (where), temporal (when), and species distribution of disease
• Monitoring: Ongoing systematic collection of disease data
• Surveillance: Active investigation of disease occurrence; types - passive (reports) and active (field surveys)
• Quarantine: Legal isolation of animals suspected of having/carrying disease
  • Types: Strict (complete isolation), Modified (restricted movement)
  • Duration: Based on incubation period of suspected disease
• Exam tip: Quarantine period = longest incubation period of suspected disease

---

🌍 IMPORTANT NOTIFIABLE DISEASES SUMMARY

---

📝 QUICK EXAM REVISION TABLE

---

💡 TOP EXAM TIPS

1. Zoonotic diseases to always remember: Anthrax, Glanders, Leptospirosis, Salmonellosis, Listeriosis, Ringworm (Dermatophytosis), Swine Erysipelas, Avian Influenza
2. Do NOT do PM in Anthrax - spores form on air exposure
3. Glanders = slaughter policy in India - no treatment
4. HPAI = stamping out policy - no vaccination in India
5. White muscle disease = Vit E + Se deficiency in lambs/calves
6. Pulpy kidney = Cl. perfringens Type D = overeating disease
7. Circling disease = Listeriosis (silage connection)
8. Diamond skin = Swine Erysipelas (Erysipelothrix)
9. PPR = goat plague (morbillivirus, NOT cattle)
10. Blue tongue = sheep (cattle are reservoirs, insects are vectors)

---