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Vetdle Archive

Archive Case #116: Ovine Infectious Keratoconjunctivitis

Sheep veterinary case - Medium - June 27, 2026

Clinical Clues

  1. Several sheep in a mob develop eye discomfort during fly season.
  2. Affected animals tear, blink, and avoid bright light.
  3. The cornea becomes cloudy in the worst cases.
  4. Multiple animals are affected at once, suggesting spread within the group.
  5. The lesion is centered on the ocular surface rather than deeper neurologic disease.
  6. Ovine infectious keratoconjunctivitis commonly causes tearing, corneal opacity, and temporary visual impairment.

Diagnosis

Ovine Infectious Keratoconjunctivitis

This case is most consistent with Ovine Infectious Keratoconjunctivitis because the sheep have painful tearing eyes with corneal opacity and group spread. The most important clues are the photophobia and contagious flock pattern, which make a single traumatic eye injury less likely.

Learning review

Review the case evidence

Use the paired clues to explain how the evidence in this sheep case supports the provided diagnosis, Ovine Infectious Keratoconjunctivitis, then compare your reasoning with the case explanation.

Evidence checkpoints

Clues 1-2

  1. Clue 1: Several sheep in a mob develop eye discomfort during fly season.
  2. Clue 2: Affected animals tear, blink, and avoid bright light.

Clues 3-4

  1. Clue 3: The cornea becomes cloudy in the worst cases.
  2. Clue 4: Multiple animals are affected at once, suggesting spread within the group.

Clues 5-6

  1. Clue 5: The lesion is centered on the ocular surface rather than deeper neurologic disease.
  2. Clue 6: Ovine infectious keratoconjunctivitis commonly causes tearing, corneal opacity, and temporary visual impairment.

Self-review prompts

  1. After clues 1-2, what evidence from this sheep case shaped your initial interpretation?
  2. When you compare clues 3-4 with clues 1-2, what changed in your reasoning about Ovine Infectious Keratoconjunctivitis?
  3. How do clues 5-6 align with the case explanation for Ovine Infectious Keratoconjunctivitis?

Educational Use

Vetdle archive cases are educational veterinary games for diagnostic reasoning practice. They do not provide veterinary advice, diagnosis, treatment, or professional medical guidance.