Herd Report: Outbreak of Mixed Dermatophilosis and Pox Infection in Camels (Camelus dromedarius) in South Iraq

This report describes for the first time an outbreak of dermatophilosis that occurred simultaneously with pox infection in pastoralist camel herd heavily infested with tick in south of Iraq in April to May 2017. The infected animals were examined clinically and the outbreak was reported as mixed infection of camelpox and dermatophilosis. Hair matting particularly on the head, neck, and abdomen was the common skin lesion that observed on the infected animals. Lesions showed hairless brownish crusts with irregular sizes and pus exudation that left irregular border crusted lesions. In addition, evaluated camels were infected with pox papules that distributed over all parts of the body accompanied with fever and enlargement of lymph node. Some of the affected camels revealed systemic form of the camelpox. The lesions appeared on the mucous membranes of the mouth and respiratory tract and some case fatality recorded. However, dermatophilosis in camels has not previously been reported in Iraq. In conclusion this report focused on mixed infection of camelpox and dermatophilosis in herd of the local Iraqi camel. The author recommends to do a future study on these diseases, as dermatophilosis is reported for the first time in Iraq and need more investigation to understand its epidemiology because camel herds are moving continuously, and also veterinary service are not consulted for diagnosis and treatment.