Occurrence of the ear-mite Raillietia auris in cattle in Austria

We describe here the first documented case in Austria of the cattle ear mite Raillietia auris in a four-year-old dairy cow. The cow was mildly depressed, and keratoconjunctivitis was diagnosed in both eyes with Horner's syndrome in the left eye. The animal showed a mild head tilt to the left and a generalized ataxia with a tendency to move to the right side, which became exacerbated if the animal was blind-folded. Head pressing to the right side, dysphagia and a dropped jaw were also observed. Numerous rather mobile ear mites were observed at necropsy in the basal part of the left ear canal. The clinical significance of the cattle ear mite is uncertain and the clinical signs could have been caused by listerial encephalitis, which was also confirmed histologically in this case.