Pathology of ocular lesions in free-living moose (Alces alces) from Saskatchewan

Abstract

Clinical signs of impaired vision or neurological disease occurred in seven of 74 free-living moose (Alces alces) from Saskatchewan, Canada, submitted for necropsy between 1969 and 1994. Several lesions were found in each eye, including retinal degeneration (seven cases), cataract (six cases), lymphocytic-plasmacytic anterior uveitis (six cases), corneal scars (six cases), keratitis (four cases), and microphthalmia (one case), but their cause was not determined. Moraxella bovis was isolated from the cornea of one moose. Lesions in the brain and spinal cord were mild or absent.