Experimental Chronic Uveitis Ophthalmic Signs Following Equine Leptospirosis

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Abstract

The present study was conducted as the first phase of an investigation of the pathogenesis of equine uveitis. Two groups of Shetland ponies were exposed to leptospires and subsequently proved to have been infected. Weekly ocular examinations and fundic photography were used to study the development of lesions and to establish their role in the genesis of equine chronic uveitis. Exacerbations during the experiment were sporadic and resulted in varying degrees of ocular damage. Alterations in 22 clinically affected eyes (61 per cent) included synechiae, pigment rests, lens and vitreal opacities, and focal and peripapillary lesions. The pathogenesis of the fundic lesions, seen in 18 of the eyes, is discussed in relationship to the unique vascular patterns of the equine eye.