Case report
Scrotal hydrocele secondary to ascites caused by liver fluke infection in an adult beef bull
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21423/bovine-vol36no2p113-116Keywords:
ascites, beef bulls, blood chemistry, bulls, case reports, clinical aspects, clorsulon, diagnosis, disease control, drug therapy, helminthoses, helminths, hydrocele, infections, ivermectin, liver flukes, lymphadenopathy, parasites, parasitoses, scrotum, trematode infectionsAbstract
A five-year-old, 2000 lb (909 kg) beef bull was presented to the Oklahoma State University Food Animal Clinic because of weight loss during the previous eight weeks, and lameness and increasing recumbency of two weeks? duration. Physical examination revealed a subsolar abscess, oral lesions, mild diarrhea, modest generalized lymphadenopathy and an enlarged left scrotum. Further diagnostic testing revealed liver fluke infestation, scrotal hydrocele, ascites and a positive gp-51 bovine leukemia virus serology. The ascites, weight loss, diarrhea, lymphadenopathy and hydrocele were attributed to migration of immature liver flukes. The lameness and recumbency were caused by a subsolar abscess and, therefore, unrelated to the primary problem. Bovine papular stomatitis was suspected to have caused the oral lesions, due to their physical appearance and rapid resolution. The bull was treated twice, at eight- week intervals, with ivermectin which contained clorsulon. Body condition markedly improved over the next 24 days, and the scrotal hydrocele resolved.
