Common Ovine and Caprine Diseases

Anthrax

• Causative Agent: Bacillus Anthracis

• Transmission:

  • Spores found in soil

  • Typically ingested through contaminated feed or water

• Symptoms:

  • Sudden death

  • Blood discharge from orifices

  • Rapid bloating

  • Lack of rigor mortis

Big Head

• Causative Agent

  • Clostridium novyi Type A

  • C. sordellii

  • C, chauvoei

• Clinical Signs (Rams): Head butting and fighting causes bruising or laceration and edematous swelling

• Diagnosis: Clinical signs

• Treatment:

  • Antibiotics

    • Broad spectrum antibiotics

Black Leg

• Cause: Clostridium Chauvoei

• Transmission: Spores can survive in soil and enter through open wounds

• Sypmtoms

  • Swelling of the infected limb

  • Lameness

  • Fever

  • Muscle which turns hot, painful and blackish-red

  • Crepitus

• Prevention through vaccinations

• Prognosis: Guarded to Poor, due to the acute nature of the disease treatment is often unsuccessful

Black Disease

• Causative Agent: Clostridium novyi Type B

• Found in soil

• Clinical Signs

  • Often found dead

  • Respiratory distress

  • Anorexia

  • Fever

• Diagnosis

  • Necropsy

  • Culture

• Treatment: Tetracycline if instituted

Botulism

• Causative Agent: Clostridium botulinium

• Symptoms: Flaccid paralysis

• Toxin in feed from decaying carcasses or vegetable materials such as decaying grass, hay, grain, or spoiled silage

• Vaccine can be included with other clostridial disease vaccines

Brucellosis

• Causative Agent:

  • Brucella ovis (sheep)

  • B. melitensis (sheep)

  • Brucella melitensis (goats)

  • B. abortus (goats)

• Undulant fever in humans

• Clinical Signs:

  • Abortion

  • Epididymitis (rams)

  • Lameness

  • Mastitis

  • Diarrhea

  • Depression

• Diagnosis:

  • Agglutination tests

  • Complement fixation

• Treatment: None

• There is no recommended vaccine the the USA for sheep

Caseous Lymphadenitis

• Causative Agent: Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis

• Chronic, contagious disease

• It is a disease of major concern for small ruminant producers in North America

• Characterized by abscess formation in or near major lymph nodes, or in the thorax and abdomen

• The internal form can cause and is a major rule out for the thin ewe syndrome

• Infections occur through contact with purulent exudate from ruptured external or pulmonary abscesses

• Skin injuries from shearing, tagging, docking, castration, environmental hazards provide opportunity for establishment of infection

• Clinical Signs

  • Dyspnea

  • Tachypnea

  • Cough

  • Weight Loss

• Diagnosis:

  • Culture from transtracheal wash

  • Radiographs

  • Necropsy

• Treatment

  • Incurable

  • Cull from herd

  • Management

• The disease often becomes endemic on farms because it is difficult to eradicate from infected animals, and subclinical shedders maintain environmental contamination

Enzootic Abortion in Ewes (Chlamydophilosis)

• Causative Agent: Chlamydia psittaci

• Clinical Signs:

  • Abortion

  • Weak or stillborn lambs

  • Pneumonia

  • Keratoconjunctivitis

  • Epididymitis

  • Polyarthritis

• Diagnosis

  • ELISA

  • Fluorescent antibody staining

  • Culture isolation

• Treatment

  • Antibiotics

  • Females that have aborted should be isolated

  • Fetal tissue or placenta should be burned or buried

  • Management

• Zoonosis: Pregnant women should not work with pregnant sheep, especially if abortions are occuring

Clostridium Perfringes

• Causative Agent: Clostridium Perfringes

• Clinical Signs:

  • Type A

  • Type B

  • Type C

  • Type D

• Type D: Overeating disease

  • Epsilon toxin

    • Rumen does not adjust quickly

    • Highly fermentable feeds

    • Increased gut permeability

    • Widespread tissue damage

• Diagnosis:

  • Clinical Signs

  • Necropsy

• Treatment:

  • Management

  • Vaccinations Yearly

  • No abrupt changes in feeds

Flystrike

• Causative Agents

  • Maggots

  • Licilia sericata infestation by blowfly larvae

• Clinical Signs:

  • Maggots virtually eat their host alive

  • Bacteria infec the wounds and the hosts’ organism

  • Maggots produce ammonia. Affected sheep:

    • Are depressed

    • Stop feeding

    • Suffer from fever

    • Inflammation

    • Blood loss

  • Left untreated its often fatal for affect sheep

• Treatment:

  • Management

  • Routine shearing

  • Maintain dry, clean living environments

Foot Rot

• Causative agent:

  • Multiple agents

  • Dichelobacter

  • Fusobacterium

  • Corynebacterium

• Transmission: Spread through wet, muddy environments

• Clinical Signs:

  • Lameness

  • Reduced grazing

• Treatments:

  • Foot baths

    • Zinc sulfate

    • Copper sulfate

  • Maintain dry, clean pastures

  • Trim hooves

  • Apply topical antibiotics or antiseptics

  • Systemic antibiotics for sever infections

Joint Ill/Navel Ill

• Causative Agent:

  • Staphylococci

  • Streptococci

  • Corynebacterium spp.

  • Actinomyces

  • Coliform bacteria

• Clinical Signs

  • Warm, painful, swollen joints

  • Lameness

  • Fever

  • Umbilicus abscessation

  • Leukocytosis with left shift

• Diagnosis: Clinical signs

• Treatment:

  • Antibiotics

    • Needs to penetrate the joint

      • Draxxin

      • Nuflo

  • Joint flushing

Leptospirosis

• Causative agent: Leptospira spp.

• Transmission:

  • Contact with contaminated water, feed

  • Direct contact with urine from infected animal

• Symptoms:

  • Fever

  • Lethargy

  • Loss of appetite

  • Jaundice

  • Red urine

  • Abortion in pregnant animals

  • Kidney failure

• Prevention:

  • Annual vaccinations

  • Management

  • Quarantine new animals

• Treatment:

  • Supportive care

  • Antibiotic therapy

Listeriosis

• Causative Agent: Listeria moncytogenes

• Transmission:

  • Spread through contaminated feed, particularly silage

  • Direct contact with infected animal

• Symptoms:

  • Fever

  • Depression

  • Loss of appetite

  • Circling behavior

  • Head pressing

  • Drooping ears

  • Facial paralysis

  • Abortion

• Prevention: Feed Management

• Treatment:

  • High dose antibiotics:

    • Penicillin

    • Tetracycline

  • Supportive care for neurological symptoms

Malignant Edema

• Causative Agent: Clostridium septicum

• Transmission: Enters through wounds

• Symptoms: Swelling at the site of infections

• Prevention

  • Vaccination

  • Proper wound care

  • Hygiene during procedures

• Treatment

  • Large doses of antibiotics: Penicillin 

• Prognosis is poor 

Paratuberculosis (Johne’s Disease)

• Causative Agent: Mycobacterium paratuberculosis

• Clinical Diagnosis:

  • Long incubation period

  • Chronic diarrhea

  • Wasting

  • Chronic carriers

• Test and culll

Pinkeye

• Causative Agent: Moraxella bovis

• Transmission: spread through direct contact with infected animal, flies, or contaminated equipment

• Clinical Signs:

  • Redness and swelling of eye

  • Tearing

  • Squinting

  • Cloudy or opaque cornea

  • Corneal ulcers

  • Blindness

• Treatment:

  • Antibiotics

  • Systemic antibiotics in severe cases

Tetanus

• Causative Agent: Clostridium tetani

• Clinical Signs

  • Lock jaw

  • Muscle rigidy

• Associated with:

  • Banding

  • Banding castrations

  • Lacerations

• Treatment:

  • Tetanus antitoxin

• Vaccine is toxoid

• Treatment is anti toxin

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy

• AKA Scrapie in sheep

• Causative agent: Prion

• Genetic disease in some

• Usually transmitted during lambing from infected dams via ingestion of infected placenta or allantoic fluids by flock mates and newborn lambs

• Clinical signs:

  • Wool or hair loss

  • Ataxia

  • Weight loss

  • Aggressiveness

  • Floppy ears

  • Tremors

  • Seizures

  • Inability to swallow

  • Death

• Diagnosis: Finding prion protein with immunostaining of lymphoid tissue

• Treatment: None

• Reportable

• Individual and premises identification are required for all breeding sheep leaving their original premises as part of the USA mandatory Scrapie Eradication Program

• Slaughter surveillance program has been underway for several years in which brains and lymphoid tissue of aged ewes and rams sold for slaughter are tested

• Animals found to be positive are traced back to the herd of origin, which is quarantined, and all animals are tested.

• All positive sheep and those with the 171QQ genotype are euthanized.

• Animals sold from the flock are also traced and tested

• Since the program was initiated, the prevalence of scrape has decreased from ~0.5% to ~0.1% as of 2008

• The goal is to eliminate scrapie and have the USA declared scrapie-free by 2017

Vibrosis

• Causative agent:

  • Campylobacter jejuni

  • C. fetus

• Clinical signs:

  • Late-term abortion

  • Stillbirths

  • Weak lambs

• Diagnosis: Culture

• Treatment:

  • Antibiotics

  • Vaccination

• Zoonotic

Toxoplasma

• Causative Agent: Toxoplasma gondii

• Protozoa

• Cats are reservoir

• Passed by eating infectious oocysts in cat feces

• Clinical signs:

  • Fetal death

  • Abortion

  • Embryonic death

  • Stillbirth

  • Weak nonviable neonates

• Diagnosis: Serologic testing

• Treatment: Prevent cat access to sheep areas

• Zoonotic: pregnant women and litterbox

Caprine Arthritis and Encephalitis (CAE)

• Causative Agent: Retroviral

• Widespread in dairy goat breeds but uncommon in meat- and fiber-producing goats

• This has been attributed to genetics, management practices such as feeding colostrum and milk from a single dam to multiple kids, and industrialized farming practices

• Transmission: colostrum

• Clinical signs:

  • Polyarthritis most common

  • Neurologic signs

• Treatment:

  • Supportive ie.

  • Regular foot trimming

  • Use of additional bedding

  • Administration of NSAID such as phenylbutazone or aspirin

• May separate kids at birth and feed heat treated colostrum

• Eventually want to test and cull positive animals

Contagious Ecthyma (ORF)

• Parapox virus

• Clinical signs:

  • Lesions in oral cavity, eyelids, feet, and teats

  • Lameness

• Diagnosis: Based on clinical signs

• Infectious dermatitis of sheep and goats that affects primarily the lips of young animals. 

• The disease is usually more severe in goats than in sheep. 

• Zoonosis: Humans are occasionally affected through direct contact.

• Treatment:

  • Secondary bacterial infections

  • Supportive care 

Ovine Progressive Pneumonia

• Causative agent: Retroviridae family

• Clinical signs:

  • Coughing

  • Bronchial exudates

  • Anorexia

  • Fever

  • Depression

  • Encephalitis

  • Mastitis

• Diagnosis:

  • Necropsy

  • ELISA

  • AGID

  • Virus isolation

• Treatment:

  • None

  • No vaccine

• Test once or twice annually and cull positives

Entropion

• Causative agent:

  • Congenital, trauma

  • Severe dehydration

  • Weight loss

  • Painful ocular conditions

• Clinical signs:

  • Blepharospasm

  • Photophobia

  • Epiphora

  • Keratoconjunctivitis

  • Eye rubbing

• Diagnosis: Clinical signs

• Treatment:

  • Surgical

  • Antibiotics

Hereditary Chondrodysplasia

• Spider Lamb Syndrome

• Causative agent: Genetic disorder passed from carrier parents to offspring

• Commonly seen in Suffolk or Hampshire breeds

• Clinical signs:

  • Skeletal defects

  • Abnormal bone growth

  • Difficulty standing and nursing

• Affected animals often do not survive beyond 6 months

• Genetic testing identifies carries to avoid breeding

Metritis

• Causative agent: Clostridium spp.

• Inflammation of the uterus due to bacterial infection after lambing/kidding or abortion

• Clinical Signs:

  • Vaginal discharge

  • Foul Smelling

  • Fever

  • Depression

• Treatment:

  • Prostaglandins

  • Oxytocin

  • Antibiotics

• Supportive care:

  • Fluids

  • Anti inflammatories

Pregnancy Toxemia (Ketosis)

• Inability to consume sufficient energy, reduced rumen volume leading to a breakdown of fat stores and accumulation of ketones in the blood.

• Kids and Lambs taking energy and space in the abdomen -> decreasing rumen fill

• Often occurs during late pregnancy or early lactation when energy demands are high.

• Symptoms:

  • Loss of appetite

  • Lethargy

  • Sweet smelling breath

  • Weight Loss

  • Muscle tremors

  • Incoordination

• Treatment:

  • Oral Glucose Precursors:

    • Propylene Glycol