| Popis: |
A program for controlling abscess disease of sheep, based on vaccination, zinc injection and antiseptic washing, was implemented on a sheep flock comprising 50 Najdi ewes and 3 breeding rams. The animals in the flock were vaccinated with a bacterin (GlanvacTM) and washed with Dettol antiseptic at its standard dilution (1/125) every 6 months. They are also injected subcutaneously with 5 mg/kg bodyweight zinc as zinc oxide suspended in olive oil, once annually. The ewes were then allowed to breed freely and the born F1 generation of lambs (n=20) joined the control program at the age of 3-4 months. The ewes and the lambs were monitored for abscess development and for general health for two years. In the first year, two vaccinated ewes developed abscesses on the head with incidence of 3.8% (2/53). Two non-vaccinated lambs developed abscesses at the age of 3 months before joining the control program. The program was continued on the parent stock ewes and their F1 generation lambs for a second year. The incidence of abscesses was 0% for both dams and lambs in the second year. The F1 generation reached maturity and was bred to produce F2 generation of lambs (n=8) that also joined the control grogram at the age of 3-4 months. The F2 generation of lambs remained free of abscesses until the age of 5 months, the time when the experiment time expired. The results show that the program is highly effective in the control of sheep abscess disease as from the second year of its implementation. Its alternative, test and cull seropositive animals will not be accepted by sheep owners in this country especially when the number of positive animals is high and there is the added cost of running the ELISA test for each animal in the flock. |
