Head tilt in 6 Ankole-Watusi cattle (Bos taurus ankole) with chronic exudative cornual sinusitis.

Vet Pathol. March 2025;62(2):248 - 253.

Latasha Ludwig¹, Emily Ratsep², Deidre Fontenot³, Kenneth J Conley⁴, Carlos E Rodriguez⁵, Cédric B Larouche⁶

¹ University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.; ² University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.; ³ Walt Disney World® Resort, Bay Lake, FL.; ⁴ Walt Disney World® Resort, Bay Lake, FL.; ⁵ Walt Disney World® Resort, Bay Lake, FL.; ⁶ University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Ankole-Watusi cattle, Bos taurus ankole, have a unique wide-based horn structure with a large communication to the frontal sinus compared to other cattle breeds. A total of 6 cases of cornual sinusitis presented at the Toronto Zoo and Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge® and Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park with a head tilt. Clinically, 4 of the 6 cases had concurrent otitis at the time of initial clinical observation. Medical management was the standard across all cases with limited surgical success in 2 cases. Due to intractable and progressive clinical signs despite treatment attempts, euthanasia and postmortem examinations were performed. All animals had gross and histologic evidence of cornual sinusitis with massive mucoid exudate in either 1 or both horns. Fluid accumulation and sinusitis within the cornual sinus should be considered a differential diagnosis in Ankole-Watusi cattle with a head tilt.

Keywords

Ankole-Watusi; bovine; cornual sinus; head tilt; horn; inflammation; sinusitis;

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