What are the prevention and treatment methods for foot rot in sheep?

Foot rot, also called interdigital rot or rot between the toes, is prone to occur in autumn. It is an infectious disease that can affect sheep, cattle, pigs and horses. Foot rot in sheep has two types, infectious and non-infectious, and is caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum invading the interdigital cleft of the sheep's hoof, causing the hoof to soften and rot and to discharge purulent secretions. It is characterized by inflammation and necrosis of local tissue. Because the disease often attacks the hoof, it is called “foot rot”. This disease occurs in all parts of China, and is often endemic in the vast pastoral areas of the northwest, causing great harm to the development of sheep flocks.

Preventive measures for foot rot in sheep

1. Eliminate the various factors that promote the onset of the disease.

① Strengthen hoof care, trim hooves frequently, avoid feed that is sharp, hard and full of thorns, and promptly treat hoof injuries;

② Pay attention to the hygiene of the pen, keep it clean and dry, and do not overcrowd the flock;

③ Try to avoid or reduce grazing in low-lying, damp areas.

2. When this disease is found in a flock, a whole-flock inspection should be carried out promptly, and all diseased sheep should be isolated for treatment. All healthy sheep should receive preventive foot bathing with 30% copper sulfate or 10% formalin. The pen should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, the surface soil removed and replaced with new soil. Feces, necrotic tissue and contaminated bedding should be thoroughly burned. When sheep with foot rot are found, they should be isolated and treated promptly. Healthy sheep should be kept together or grazed on the same pasture. If there are many diseased sheep, the pasture and watering place should be rotated; choose a high, dry pasture and change to drinking at a river channel with a sandy bottom. Stop grazing on contaminated pasture, and do not use it again until at least two months have passed.

3. Inject the anti-foot rot vaccine “clovax”. Initially inject twice, with an interval of 5-6 weeks. After that, inject once every 6 months. The vaccine is very effective, but 100% effectiveness can only be achieved under the best management conditions. This vaccine can also be used for treatment, but its main future role is still as part of preventive measures, and most importantly it must be combined with good management. Because the vaccine is expensive, sheep owners generally use it only for rams. For dead sheep or slaughtered sheep, the necrotic tissue should first be removed, then the skin should be stripped, and the skin and wool may be transported out only after they are dry.

Treatment methods for foot rot in sheep

First isolate the animal and keep the environment dry. Then, according to the development of the disease, take appropriate treatment measures.

1. Remove the necrotic tissue from the affected area, and when a clean wound surface appears, rinse with vinegar, 4% acetic acid, 1% potassium permanganate, 3% lysol or hydrogen peroxide, then bathe the foot with 10% copper sulfate or 6% formalin. If a large number of cases occur, apply 10% gentian violet or pine tar oil to the affected area every day.

2. If the abscess has not ruptured, incise it to drain the pus, then wash with 1% potassium permanganate, and then apply concentrated formalin or sprinkle with potassium permanganate powder.

3. After removing the necrotic tissue, apply 10% chloramphenicol alcohol solution, or use penicillin aqueous solution (100-200 iu per ml of normal saline) or oil emulsion (1000 iu per ml of oil) for local application. For severely diseased sheep, for example when there is secondary infection, while using local medication, sulfonamides or antibiotics should also be used systemically, among which injection of sulfadiazine or oxytetracycline is the most effective.

4. Insert gauze soaked in 2% formalin alcohol solution into the rotten part of the interdigital cleft, bandage with medicated gauze for 24 hours, then remove the bandage.

5. For severe disease with purulent secretions flowing in the interdigital cleft, wash away the secretions with potassium permanganate solution, insert penicillin powder into the interdigital cleft, bandage with gauze for 24 hours, then remove the bandage.

6. During the granulation formation stage, 1:10 oxytetracycline and glycerol can be used for treatment; when granulation tissue is overgrown, 10% halite ointment can be applied or halite powder sprinkled on. To prevent stimulation by hard objects, a bandage can be applied to the diseased hoof.

7. Soak the affected area in 1% potassium permanganate solution for 5-10 minutes. Once each morning and evening.

8. First wash away the rotten material of the hoof, then apply 5% iodine tincture, and apply pine tar oil on the outside. Once a day.

9. For traditional Chinese medicine treatment, peach blossom powder or dragon bone powder may be sprinkled on the affected area. To cure foot rot in sheep, according to the severity of the disease, persist in rotating several methods for multiple treatments.

① Peach blossom powder: 500 g aged lime, 250 g rhubarb. First put the rhubarb into a pot, add one bowl of water, boil for 10 min, then add the aged lime, stir evenly and fry dry, remove the rhubarb, grind the rest into a fine powder and sprinkle on. It has the effects of promoting tissue regeneration, dissipating blood stasis, reducing swelling and relieving pain.

② Dragon bone powder: 30 g dragon bone, 30 g dried alum, 24 g frankincense, 15 g cuttlefish bone, grind together into a fine powder and sprinkle on. It has the effects of relieving pain, removing toxin and promoting tissue regeneration.