What to Do When Small-tailed Han Sheep Get Sheep Pox? Detailed Explanation of Prevention and Treatment Methods

Sheep pox in Small-tailed Han Sheep is an acute febrile contagious disease caused by the sheep pox virus. Among the various pox diseases of livestock, it is the most serious febrile contagious disease, with a typical pathological process. The clinical symptoms and pathological changes of sheep pox in Small-tailed Han Sheep, however, are relatively mild. It is characterized by papules and pox lesions on the skin and mucous membranes of affected sheep, and infection occurs mainly through the respiratory and digestive tracts. Contagious pleuropneumonia in Small-tailed Han Sheep is caused by Mycoplasma, transmitted mainly through droplets, mostly with an acute course, and the mortality rate can reach above 45%-55%. Mixed infection of sheep pox and mycoplasmosis is extremely harmful, reducing economic benefits and seriously affecting the healthy and stable development of the sheep industry.

Symptoms

Affected sheep mainly show difficulty breathing, serous and purulent nasal discharge, and papules of varying sizes on the inner thighs. The disease spreads rapidly and is severe. The incidence rate reaches 56.6%, and the mortality rate reaches 38.5%. Clinical symptoms include decreased or lost appetite, listlessness, reddened conjunctiva, tearing, and elevated body temperature. Some affected sheep have serous or mucous nasal discharge, swollen eyelids, conjunctival congestion, and serous secretions. Before the pox eruption, the body temperature of affected sheep rises to 42°C, and the pox begins to erupt after 1-4 days. It starts as erythema, forms papules after 2 days, and the papules gradually enlarge and become grayish-white vesicles. The vesicle fluid gradually becomes turbid and turns into pustules, which then rupture or their contents dry up, forming brown scabs, and the sheep recover after the scabs fall off. The whole process takes about 4 weeks. Sheep pox can be complicated by inflammation of the respiratory tract, digestive tract, and joints, and in severe cases can cause death from pyosepticemia. Erythema appears on the skin of the mouth, nose, eye sockets, udder, scrotum, and inner thighs, forming papules that protrude above the skin surface; the papules then gradually expand to form grayish-white or pale red firm nodules. In severe cases, the nodules cover the whole body, and the eyelids swell, causing blindness. Difficulty breathing and coughing occur, and pleuropneumonia changes are mostly seen on one side of the affected sheep, with bronchial breath sounds and friction sounds on auscultation.

Prevention

1. Pay attention to environmental hygiene, strengthen feeding management, prevent pathogens from being introduced into healthy flocks, maintain good body condition, and appropriately supplement vitamin additives.

2. Strengthen quarantine, especially when introducing breeding sheep.

3. In epidemic areas, use attenuated sheep pox chick embryo vaccine for preventive inoculation, 0.5 ml per sheep, injected subcutaneously at the root of the tail. Immunity develops 4-6 days after injection, and the immunization period is 1 year.

4. When the disease occurs, thoroughly disinfect pens and exercise yards with disinfectants such as hot wood ash water. Affected sheep and healthy sheep should be raised in isolation, and care should be strengthened. Dead sheep should be buried deep immediately to prevent the spread of the pathogen.

Treatment

1. Specific method. Inject affected sheep with 20-50 ml of sheep pox immune serum.

2. Symptomatic treatment. Wipe and wash the affected areas of sick sheep with a 0.1% potassium permanganate aqueous solution. You can also use a decoction of Japanese honeysuckle stem and wild chrysanthemum, or wash the affected areas with light salt water, then apply iodine glycerin. You can also wash the affected areas with vinegar water, salt water, or 2% alum water, then inject antibiotics to prevent secondary infection, and at the same time inject antiviral drugs such as polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid and moroxydine.

3. Antiviral treatment can use moroxydine and ribavirin injection. For secondary infection, penicillin, kanamycin combination, or cephalosporin, lincomycin, pefloxacin mesylate, ofloxacin, moroxydine, etc. can be used, combined with dexamethasone, Isatis root injection, astragalus polysaccharide injection, etc. for treatment; for those with elevated body temperature, add analgin injection, or use amikacin or enrofloxacin, intramuscularly or intravenously 1-2 times daily for 3-5 consecutive days.