Direct Detection of Dermatophilus congolensis from Skin Scabs of Dermatophilosis Infected Animals by Polymerase Chain Reaction

Abstract

Dermaphilosis is an economically important disease of livestock caused by Dermatophilus congolensis, an actinomycete Gram-positive bacterium that produces motile zoospores which invade the skin and cause an acute,sub acute or chronic skin disease resulting in an exudative epidermitis with scab formation. The organism has also been reported to be of zoonotic importance.The economic effect of the disease is seen in all facets of the livestock industry which include milk,meat,hides and skins,reproduction, draught power,besides premature cullin and high cost of veterinary treatment. The presence of Dermatophilus congolensis was previously diagnosed from clinical signs,stained smears of the organism from skin scabs of infected animals and through isolation of the organismfrom the scabs on microbiological media. It is also rarely diagnosed through serology and animal inoculation. Beside the direvt smear,which require the presence of the characteristics morphology of the organism for it to be diagnostic, The isolation of the organism on microbiological media is often very difficult and requires an active form of the disease. It also requires at least fourty eight to seventy two hours. Polymerase chain reaction, a molecular biology technique, which is simple and specific,was used for the confirmatory detection of Dermatophilus congolensis directly from skin scabs of dermatophilosis infected animals (cattle,sheep,goats and horses) in Nigeria.This was based on the pair of primers used for the detection of the organism in sheep elsewhere, using the same technique. It is concluded that this technique is good enough for the successful detection of the organism in dermatophilosis infected animals in Nigeria