Diseases of the neonatal lamb Flashcards
What are common reasons for death intra-partum?
– Born dead
– ‘Birth stress’ resulting in a hypoxia, failure to suck, hypothermia, hypoglycaemia
– Ruptured liver
– Fractured ribs
– Brain haemorrhage
What are common reasons for death post partum?
- Hypothermia
- Starvation
- Infections
-Watery mouth
-Salmonella
-Cryptosporidia
-Septicaemia
-Meningitis
-Joint ill
-Clostridial Disease
-Pasturellosis - Predation
- Accidents
- Congenital defects
How much colostrum should be given in first feed / + first 24hours?
- First feed = 50ml / kg
- 200ml/kg in 24hours (1litre)
What are risk factors for poor colostrum intake?
- Concurrent diseases - dystocia, lameness, fluke…
- Under-nutrition ewe
- Breeding - mothering, lamb vigour
- Age of ewe
- Multiple lambs
- Lambing environment - stress, mismothering, poor weather
What can be used as colostrum substitutes?
- Ewe colostrum +++
- Goat colostrum
- Cow colostrum - less energy (need more)
- Commercial colostrum
What are risk factors for primary hypothermia?
- Out-door lambing
- Younger ewes
- Wet weather
- Small birth weight
- Failure to feed
How can you prevent hypothermia?
- Lambing period
- Genetics
- Ewe nutrition
- Shelter
- Lamb coats
How do you treat hypothermia?
why would you not administer orally?
- intra peritoneal glucose
oral = regurgitation, inhalational pneumonia + asphyxia
How would you treat a starving lamb?
- if its holding its head = stomach tube
- If not holding its head = IP glucose
What are some enteric diseases in lambs?
- Watery mouth
- Lamb dysentery
- ETEC
- Septicaemia / meningitis - pasteurellosis
- Rotavirus
- Salmonella
- Cryptosporidium parvum
- Drunken lamb syndrome
What are clinical signs of watery mouth?
- 12-72 hours of age
- Dull
- Unwilling to suck
- Normothermic
- ‘watery mouth’ - saliva drooling from the muzzle.
- Profuse lacrimation
- Frequently accompanied by abomasal tympany
What are differential diagnoses for watery mouth?
- Lamb dysentery
- Neonatal scours - E. coli K-99, Rotavirus
- Drunken lamb syndrome - D-lactic acidosis syndrome
How can you treat, prevent and control watery mouth?
- Tx = enteral / parenteral antibiotics, oral rehydration
- Prevention = good quality colostrum, clean dry bedding + disinfected pens
What causes lamb dysentery?
How is it prevented?
- Clostridium perfringens type B
- beta + epsilon toxins
- Vaccinate - heptavac, bravoxin, covexin, ovivac
What are clinical signs of lamb dysentery?
- 1-3 days of age
- Sudden death
- Haemorrhagic diarrhoea
- PM = dark red intestines, pale friable liver + blood stained peritoneal fluid
How is enterotoxigenic E.coli treated?
- Uncommon - tx = fluid therapy
- Control = hygiene + colosturm
What are clinical signs of neonatal salmonellosis?
- Weakness
- Profuse watery diarrhoea
- Blood stained
- Dehydration
- Death
ZOONOTIC
What does cryptosporidiosis cause?
- Villous atrophy in distal SI
- Malabsorption, diarrhoea
ZOONOTIC
give fluid therapy
What are clinical signs of drunken lamb syndrome?
- 7-10days
- Ataxia
- Stop sucking
- Recumbent + depressed
What is treatment of drunken lamb syndrome?
Sodium bicarbonate - neuralize acidosis
When is joint ill seen? How is it treated? Prognosis?
- Seen in 2-3wk old lambs
- Antibiotics + NSAIDs
- Poor response
What bacteria causes joint ill?
- Streptococcus dysgalactiae - resistance to tetracyclines
How is navel ill prevented?
- Immersion in iodine within 15mins of birth
- Good hygiene practices
- Colostrum
- Tx - penicillin
How do iodine deficiency present in lambs?
- Goitre in new born lambs
- Late abortions
- Minimal fleece in live lambs
- PM - thyroid gland weight >0.4g/kg live weight
How is iodine deficiency treated / prevented?
- Ewe supplementation
- Tx - oral potassium iodide
What is seen with copper deficiency?
- Swayback
- Fine head tremors
- Osteoporosis
- Tendon abnormalities
- Depigmentation of coloured wool/ poor wool quality
- Anaemia
*common in upland / hill areas
What is the treatment of swayback?
none - euthanasia
What is white muscle disease?
Tx?
- Vitamin E + selenium deficiency
- Tx = potassium selenate / Vitamin E
What are some congenital malformations?
- Atresia ani
- Schistosoma reflexa
- Brachygnathia
- Entropion
- Dandy walker malformation
What is seen in a post mortem of a lamb due to dystocia?
- Swollen head / tongue
- Meconium staining
- Oedema head shoulders
- Fractured ribs / limbs
- Free blood in carcass
- Haemorrhages
What is seen in a post mortem of a lamb due to hypothermia / starvation?
- No brown fat
- Minimal body fat
- No milk in abomasum
