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Vetdle Archive

Archive Case #91: Bovine Ringworm

Cattle veterinary case - Medium - June 2, 2026

Clinical Clues

  1. Young cattle develop circular grey crusted patches on the head and around the eyes.
  2. The lesions slowly enlarge and more calves in the group begin to show them.
  3. Most animals are otherwise bright and systemically well.
  4. The skin is alopecic and flaky rather than deeply ulcerated.
  5. The outbreak is occurring in housed youngstock during close contact.
  6. Dermatophyte infection in cattle commonly causes ring-shaped alopecic crusting lesions known as ringworm.

Diagnosis

Bovine Ringworm

This case is most consistent with Bovine Ringworm because the calves have classic circular alopecic crusted lesions with group spread. The most important clues are the lesion shape and age group, which strongly support dermatophytosis.

Learning review

Review the case evidence

Use the paired clues to explain how the evidence in this cattle case supports the provided diagnosis, Bovine Ringworm, then compare your reasoning with the case explanation.

Evidence checkpoints

Clues 1-2

  1. Clue 1: Young cattle develop circular grey crusted patches on the head and around the eyes.
  2. Clue 2: The lesions slowly enlarge and more calves in the group begin to show them.

Clues 3-4

  1. Clue 3: Most animals are otherwise bright and systemically well.
  2. Clue 4: The skin is alopecic and flaky rather than deeply ulcerated.

Clues 5-6

  1. Clue 5: The outbreak is occurring in housed youngstock during close contact.
  2. Clue 6: Dermatophyte infection in cattle commonly causes ring-shaped alopecic crusting lesions known as ringworm.

Self-review prompts

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

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.