Spinal abscesses as a cause of paralysis in sheep

Abstract

Extract

There are a number of disease entities of sheep, particularly lambs, characterized by some degree of locomotor disturbance. Copper deficiency as a cause of ataxia or posterior paralysis in lambs has received much attention in the scientific literature of different countries, and Cunningham (1946) describes the condition in New Zealand and the circumstances under which it occurs. Hartley (1956), describing the symptoms of focal symmetrical encephalomalacia of lambs, mentions, among other neuorological signs, inability to rise, prostration, and paddling movements of the legs. Muscular dystrophy of lambs has been reported in New Zealand by Hartley (1953) and Dodd (1954), who state that those severely affected are unable to rise, while others may show arched back and stilted gait. Lambs with severe arthritis due to Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, though not paralysed, often show marked disinclination to rise, while no obvious heat or swelling may be detected in the affected limb joints (Barry, 1937; Clark, 1938).