What Is Malignant Catarrhal Fever (MCF)?
Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is a generalized viral disease of domestic cattle and buffaloes and many species of wild ruminants characterized by high fever, profuse nasal discharge, corneal opacity, ophthalmia, generalized lymphadenopathy, leukopenia, and severe inflammation of the conjunctival, oral, and nasal mucosas with necrosis in the oral and nasal cavities sometimes extending into the esophagus and trachea. Occasionally central nervous system (CNS) signs, diarrhea, skin lesions, and nonsuppurative arthritis are observed. Clinical Signs A wide variety of symptoms are seen in this disease. Sudden death may occur; this may be preceded by 12-24 hours of depression, diarrhea and dysentery, signs of dis-seminated intravascular coagulation, or dyspnea. In less acute cases, there may be fever [41-41.5ºC (105-107ºF)] and inappetence. Animals often develop bilateral corneal opacity that begins at the corneoscleral junction and pro-gresses inward. Serous discharges from the eyes and nos
