| Information sheets | | | Elsenburg infopaks | | | Animals, diseases: 22 |
Brucella ovis
Afrikaans | Xhosa
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Fertile rams are a basic prerequisite for reproduction, and consequently also for profitable small stock farming. Regular testing of rams is a powerful instrument with which a farmer can enhance his success rate.
Brucella ovis is a bacterium which causes infertility in rams through lesions which are formed mainly in the epididymus. It is highly contagious and is passed on from one ram to the next when they sniff at one another. The infection occurs in some 40 per cent of the flocks in Namaqualand, and on average 20 per cent of rams in infected flocks are affected. Long servicing seasons, and the use of more than one ram, often conceal the effects of Brucella ovis. |
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Brucella organisms settle within the white blood cells, and the effectiveness level of treatment is low. Removal of one affected testis is not effective, since the organism can also entrench itself in the bladder and secondary glands, from where it remains capable of infecting other rams. If infestation of a flock can be averted, it would be possible to:
By palpation of the testes a veterinarian can determine whether there are already any lesions present. It can be determined by means of a highly effective blood test whether a ram is a carrier of the disease. Infected rams should be culled. If the simple test is repeated until the flock tests disease free twice, it may be assumed that the infestation has been stamped out. Thereafter all bought rams must be tested to ensure that they are clean, and that they will not re-introduce the infection into the flock. Ewes do not play an important role in the transmission of Brucella ovis, since they do not remain permanent carriers of the disease. To protect the young rams, it is also necessary to inoculate male lambs with the Rev 1 vaccine at the age of two months. |
MP van Aardt
ELSENBURG / SPRINGBOK Veterinary Services
