Small Ruminants: Neonatal Lamb Disease Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the difference between neonatal and perinatal?

A

Neonatal- the period immediately after birth 1-2 weeks
Perinatal- the period around parturition

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2
Q

What can cause neonatal death intra-partum (0-24 hours)

A
  • Born dead
  • Birth stress resulting in failure to suck, hypothermia
  • Anoxia/hypoxia
  • Ruptured liver
  • Fractured ribs
  • Brain haemorrhage
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3
Q

What are the different common causes of post-partum lost of neonates?

A
  • Hypothermia
  • Starvation
  • Infections
  • Predation
  • Accidents
  • Congenital defects
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4
Q

What are the common infections that cause post-partum lamb losses?

A
  • Watery mouth
  • Salmonella
  • Cryptosporidia
  • Septicaemia
  • Meningitis
  • Joint ill
  • Clostridial disease
  • Pasturellosis
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5
Q

What are the different risk factors for lamb losses?

A
  • Ewe factors- genetics, experience, health, nutrition, litter, stress, colostrum, vaccination
  • Lamb factors- birth weight, genetics, lamb vigour, vaccination status
  • Environmental factors- hygiene, shelter, castration/tail docking, sheperds, weather
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6
Q

How much colostrum should a lamb be given within the first 25 hours?

A

50ml/kg first feed
200ml/kg in 24 hours

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7
Q

What is the threshold for FPT of serum TP?

A
  • Serum TP >5.5g/dL

FPR threshold for IgG assessed by radial immunodiffusion 10-15mg/ml

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8
Q

What are the risk factors for poor colostrum intake

A
  • Concurrent disease- dystocia, lameness
  • Undernutrition ewe
  • Breeding
  • Age of ewes
  • Multiple births
  • Lambing environment- stress, mis mothering, shepherding, weather
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9
Q

What are the 4 options for colostrum substitutes?

A
  1. Ewe colostrum- can use 10-15 iu oxytocin i.m to assist milking out single ewes
  2. Goat colostrum- good antibody spectrum, similar energy, must be CAE negative flocks
  3. Cow colostrum- 2 hours of calving, Johne’s and TB neg, less energy
  4. Commercial colostrum substitutes- variable quality
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10
Q

How can hypothermia be prevented?

A
  • Lambing period
  • Genetics- system, mothers
  • Ewe nutrition- lamb birth weight, brown fat, colostrum
  • Provide field shelter
  • Identify at risk lambs
  • Lamb coats
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11
Q

How should hypothermia be controlled?

A
  • Don’t warm a warm hypoglycaemic lamb without giving it glucose first- will have a hypoglycaemic fit
  • Oral administratoin of fluids to hypothermic lambs can cause regurgitatoin and inhalation pneumonia or asphyxia
  • Use i/p glucose
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12
Q

What should be asssessed and done to resolve starvation

A

Starvation- after a few hours and a failure to suck
Holding the head- stomach tube
Not holding the head- IP glucose (20% glucose solution can be made equal by adding boiling water to 40% solution

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13
Q

What are the different common enteric diseases that can affect neonatal lambs?

A
  • Watery mouth
  • Lamb dysentery
  • ETEC
  • Septicaemia/meningitis (pasturellosis)
  • Salmonella
  • Cryptosporidium parbum
  • Drunken lamb syndrome
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14
Q

What are the clinical signs of watery mouth disease?

A
  • 12-72 hours of age
  • Dull
  • Unwilling to suck
  • Drooling saliva
  • Profuse lacrimation
  • Frequently accompanied by abomasal tympany
  • Scouring unusual- constipation/retained meconium
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15
Q
  1. What are the consequences of watery mouth disease?
  2. What does a PM show
A
    • Death within 24 hours
      * Terminal hypogylcaemia, hypothermia and lactic acidaemia
  1. Few abnormalities, abomasum distended with gas, saliva and clots of milk, Bacteraemia evident

DDXs- lamb dysentry, neonatal scours, drunken lamb syndrome

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16
Q
  1. What is the aetiology and pathogenesis of watery mouth disease?
  2. What are the risk factors?
A
  1. Endotoxaemia leading to terminal hypoglycaemia, lactic acidaemia and leucopenia.
    Delayed abomasal emptying
  2. Increased litter size, lamb size (small), ewe condition, time, colostrum, housed lambs
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17
Q

How is watery mouth disease treated?

A
  • Enteral/parenteral antibiotics
  • Glucose/electrolyte solution by stomach tube
  • Not feeding milk
  • Amoxicillin + claculanic acid
  • Flunixin meglumine
  • Oral rehydration
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18
Q

How can watery mouth be prevented and controlled?

A
  • Promoting adequate volumes of good quality colostrum- stomach tube
  • Clean dry bedding
  • Cleaning and disinfection
  • Can use metaphylactic ABs
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19
Q

When is antibiotic use for WMD suitable?

According to SVS

A

Targeted oral ABs approptiate:
* Lambs born into groups with previous clinical cases
* Triplets or low birth weights

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20
Q
  1. What causes lamb dysentery?
  2. How old are affected lambs?
  3. What are the clinical signs?
  4. What does a PM show?
A
  1. Caused by clostridium perfringens type B
  2. 1-3 days of age
  3. Sudden death, haemorrhagic diarrhoea
  4. PM- dark red intestines, blood stained peritoneal fluid, pale friable liver
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21
Q

How is lamb dysentery prevented?

A
  • Vaccination of ewes with multivalent clostridial vaccines- heptavac
    Good passive transfer of MDAs
22
Q
  1. When can lambs be infected with enterotoxigenic E.coli?
  2. What are the clinical signs
  3. How is it treated?
  4. How is it controlled?
A
  1. Uncommon, E.coli with K99 or F41 antigen, First 24-48 hours
  2. Watery brown diarrhoea
  3. Treatment with fluid therapy
  4. Control through hygiene, adequate colostrum intake, isolation
    Oral ABs
23
Q
  1. What strains can casue neonatal salmonellosis?
  2. What are the clinical signs?
  3. How is it diagnosed?
A
  1. S. tymphimurium, dublin
  2. Weakness, profuse watery diarhhoea, blood stained, dehydration, death
  3. Culture
    Intestinal inflammation, reduced absorption, increased secretions

Zoonosis

24
Q
  1. What causes cryptosporidiosis?
  2. What is its pathogenesis?
  3. How is it treated?
A
  1. Cryptosporidium parvum
  2. Villous atrophy in distal SI, malabsorption, secondary fermentation and diarrhoea
  3. Supportive oral therapy
25
Q

What is drunken lamb syndrome also known as?

A
  • Lamb nephrosis
  • Lamb D-lactic acidosis syndrome
26
Q
  1. What are the clinical signs of lamb nephrosis?
  2. What is the suggested hypothesis?
A
  1. 7-10 days old/1-2 months, ataxia, stop sucking, recumbant and depressed, high mortality
  2. Gut pathogens cause villous atrophy and rapid gut transit, leads to bacterial fermentation in gut, D-lactic acidosis, increased phosphate from hypoxia (neurological signs and nephrosis from increased urea)
27
Q

How is drunken lamb treated?

A

400ml of warm tap water
35g of sodium bicarbonate
50ml given as a single oral bolus

Prevention- hygiene, smaller lambs more risk, increased towards end of lambing

28
Q
  1. When is joint isll usually seen in lambs?
  2. How does it present?
  3. How can it be treated?
A
  1. Usually seen in lambs aged 2-3 weeks
  2. Sudden onset lameness, single or multiple joints
  3. Variable response to treatment, often poor
  4. Antibiotics and NSAIDs- long course penicillin in early cases (euthanasia in later cases)
29
Q

What pathogens is commonly the cause of joint ill?

A

Streptococcus dysgalactiae

Can be others

30
Q
  1. What are the different possible sources of infection of joint ill?
  2. How can it be prevented?
A
  1. Teats, Milk, Dirty wool, Dirty pens
    Cutaneous- wounds, umbilicus, docking, ear tagging
  2. Colostrum, hygiene, navel dipping, farm specfic risk factors
31
Q

How can navel ill be prevented?

A
  • Total immersion of the navel in veterinary iodine within 15 minutes
  • Repeated 2-4 hours later
  • Good hygiene practices
  • Colostrum
  • Treatment- penicillin, potentiated amoxicillin
32
Q
  1. What can predispose to iodine deficiency?
  2. What is the clinical presentation?
  3. What shows on PM
A
  1. Plants high in thiocyanates
  2. Goitre (big swelling in neck) in new born lambs, late abortions, minimal fleece in live lambs
  3. PM- Histopathology of the thyroid gland- weight >0.4g/kh live weight
33
Q

How is iodine deficiency treated and prevented?

A

Prevention- Ewe supplementation iodised oil injections, oral 8/4 weeks prior lambing
Treatment- oral potassium iodide 20mg/lamb

34
Q

Where can copper deficiency be common?
How does it present?

A

Common in some upland/hill areas
Swayback, fine head tremour, osteoporosis, tendon abnormalities, depigmentation of coloured wool, poor quality wool, anaemia

35
Q

How is it swayback diagnosed and treated?

A

Diagnosis- clinical signs, histopathology of the brain and spinal cord, liver copper conc <80mg/kh
Treatment- none (euthanasia)

36
Q

How can copper deficiency be investigated and prevented?

A
  • Supplementation of the ewe throughout pregnancy
  • Risk of toxicity- prevalence, breed
  • Blood samples and liver tissue samples pre-tupping
  • 4 ewes per managment group or 8 per flock if managed as a whole
37
Q

How can copper be supplemented?

A
  • Injections of chelated copper
  • Mineralised drenches -short term
  • Mineral supplements
  • Copper capsuled and boluses- slow release copper
  • Don’t provide more then one source of supplementation
38
Q

What is white muscle disease?
What is it also known as?
What does it cause?

A

Vitamin E and Selenium deficiency
AKA- nutritional muscular dystrophy, stiff lamb disease
Causes degeneration of skeletal and cardiac muscle

39
Q
  1. What are the clinical signs of white muscle disease?
  2. How is it treated?
A
  1. Weak lambs with difficulty sucking
  2. Tx- Potassium selenate 0.75-1.5mg, vitamin E- 34-68mg
    Prevented by supplementatoin at least 6 weeks before lambing
40
Q

What is Atresia Ani?
How can it be treated?

A

Failure of the anus and sometimes part or all of the terminal colon and/or rectum to form properly
May end blindly or open into the vagina, urethra or bladder
Can be treated surgically

41
Q

What are the best techniques for entropion in lambs from highest success rate to lowest?

A

Surgical excision- 92.4%
Injection (1ml s.c penicillin)
Pinching
Michel wound clip

42
Q

How should prolapsed intestines be approached?

A
  • GA
  • Surgically prepare
  • Clean intestines- sterile fluid
  • Enlarge hole
  • Replace
  • Suture defect, good after care
43
Q

How should lamb morbidity/mortality issues be investigated?

A
  1. History
  2. Farm records
  3. Farm visit- examine ewes and lambs, risk factors
  4. Samples- Lamb PMs, Blood sample ewes, faeces
44
Q

What should be taken for a history of a farm and what are the risk factors?

A

History
* Lambing season
* Length
* Indoors/outdoors
* Breeds
* Age of lambs
* Abortion history
* Dystocia
* Colostrum policy
* Castratoin/tail docking policy
* Vaccinations
* Ewe health issues
* Farm specific issues
* Farm treatments
Risk Factors
* Hygiene
* Stocking Rates
* Pen Sizes
* Ventilation

45
Q

What should be checked and notes on Lamb PMs?

A

Weight- excessive suggests dystocia
Hardened feet- walked
Carcasse
External Meconium staining
Trauma abnormalities
Watery mouth
Scours
Haemorrhage
Swelling
Fleece
Deformities- cleft palate, brachygnathia, entropion
Navel ill
Bloating

46
Q

Describe a Lamb PM

A

Open carcass abdomen and thorax
* Brown fat around kidneys
* Milk/colostrum in abomasum
* Lung aeration shows partum/post patum death (float test)
* Hepatic rupture, thoracic, abdominal or meningeal haemorrhage
* Thyroid gland size
* Infectious causes

47
Q

How can dystocia and hypothermia show on a PM?

A

Dystocia- swollen head/tongue, meconium staining, oedema head and shoulders, fractured ribs, free blood in carcasse, haemorrhage
Hypothermia- no brown fat, minimal body fat, no milk in abomasum

48
Q

How should ewes and rams be selected for pre-tupping?

A

Ewe selectoin at pre-tupping check:
Fit healthy, no mastitis, not broken mouth, good mothers, low dystocia
Ram selection:
Low dystocia, vigorous lambs

49
Q

How can managment reduce lamb mortality?

A
  • Housing
  • Stocking density
  • Group size and constitution
  • Dry clean bedding
  • Clean and disinfect lambing
  • Dag ewes
  • Separate off ill ewes, ill lambs
  • Provide shelter in fields
50
Q

How can managment for lamb care reduce mortality?

A

Lambing hygiene- wear gloves, disinfect hands and equipment
Lamb care- dip navels twice in iodine, don’t castrate in first 24 hours, ensure adequate colostrum, ewes and lambs vaccinated, disinfect all feedinf equipment