[chonty]

Hi all. Feeling pretty annoyed with myself. Had a ewe sunday who showed signs of twin lamb disease. So it being a sunday evening (typical) drenched with flat warm lucozade, 80ml calciject sub cut and a dose of alamycin. Continued drenching her as close to 6 hourly as poss since then with both life aid and thin porridge to try to keep her rumen going (not both at the same time). Also gave her another 60ml calciject tues night. She was still clearly not right so contacted the vet yesterday. She reckons listeria is reponsible. Now on double daily dose penicillin for 5 days and continuued drenches.

So feeling pretty downhearted. Feel as if ive failed the ewe somewhat but at no point was she 'down' just clearly depressed and not eating drinking. Having googled listeriosis her symptoms all fit So what precautions with regards the rest of them ought i be taking? Burn bedding? Can she go out and get some fresh air with the rest? This is the first time ive come across this. The ewe doesnt seem to have thrown the lambs yet but shes stil 2-3 weeks off.

Im feeding coarse mix, ad lib hay, energy bucket with extra calcium ad lib (recently added when i thought this ewe had twin lamb).

Any help/ experience welcome.


Sorry for the essay

Chantal

[shep53]

Sorry slightly confused iv'e  not had a sheep remain on its feet with listeria and the death rate is very high and yet you are asking if she can go outside after 6 days ??   Also  I thought only  certain  ab's  can penetrate the brain barrier alamycin  being ok but not penicillin ,  she must have  a very very  mild case .   Does the hay look and smell good , listeria in hay is very rare .   you also say she is not drinking and again  due to to high  temp all my cases drink a lot in the early stages .   does she have any signs of facial paralysis on one side ??

[MarvinH]

Dont be annoyed with yourself I think you did everything right.Did the vet prescribe penicillin?

[chonty]

Hay smells good. Came across a tiny wee bit of mould last week but didnt feed it. She has been leaning to her right hand side. So rather than being off her feet she leans and almost wedges herself in the hurdle. I dont mean let her out permanently, just for a few hours to get some sunshine! She cocks her head to the right. Left does seem to be more droopy. With the left eye now having a corneal ulcer. The vet prescribed penicillin at double dosage. Shes not had anything orally by choice since early hours monday morning. She is also salivating profusely and is very snotty. Can only trust the vet really as i have been treating for both twin lamb and hypocalcaemia with little improvement. ((

[fsmnutter]

The one sidedness and drooping lip etc sound typical of Listeria.
It is a bacteria that can grow in forage, usually silage, but isn't always noticeably 'off', and potentially could be carried in hay.
It enters individual animals that may have a small cut etc in the mouth, so is usually a one-off, but if concerned, burn any hay that may be suspect, but like I say, it's unlikely to affect anyone else.
Penicillin is the only antibiotic I know of that is effective against Listeria, and an extended course at high dose is necessary, so she's on the right treatment.
Mortality rate is commonly high, but I believe this is at least partly due to it not being commercially viable to nurse a single sheep through it.
I have nursed a ewe through Listeria when I was a meagre vet student on lambing placement. She lambed early (according to raddle by at least a few days) and was brought in, was dropping cud from one side, falling over the same side, and generally a bit off. Bottle fed her lambs, kept her in in a pen so she couldnt get into trouble for a while, then she went out to the 'hospital field' that was getting extra checks due to triplets/fosters/weak lambs/ewes, and a few days later she was the bugger that escaped out the gate when I was trying to get another sheep in, seeming none the worse for wear, and by this point feeding both her lambs.
Bear in mind Listeria can also cause abortion, so she may or may not lamb early, or produce dead lambs later if the bacteria has affected the placenta, just a warning so its not such a shock, keep a close eye on her.
Hang in there, and best to keep her confined until she is able to get about without too much staggering so she won't get into trouble outside, and maybe see if the vet has some ointment for her eye.
Sounds like you're doing everything for her, and certainly the energy liquids and calcium are always good as a general pick me up in a ewe late in pregnancy who is struggling to eat/drink.
All the best
Suzanne

[shep53]

 You are describing  listeriosis perfectly and if she hasn't gone down then you stand a  good chance of her recovering,  if she can go out then give her a try but she may just fall over or end up in a corner .   The none eating and drinking is a worry and may cause more problems , if you try to to get fluids down her throat take time as swallowing  can be a problem .       Any soil contamination in the hay ??     Are they eating off the ground ??            Has she lost any teeth as the bacteria often enter through a mouth wound the most common being a tooth cavity ??

[Old Shep]

no advice, but can I say Suzanne and SHep53 - thank you for very good posts which are very informative for those of us who have never seen this.

[shep53]

FSMNUTTER     I have had good success with massive doses of tetracycline , this is the the  ab  often mentioned in  books /articles and  ive been told by several vets that it is the only one that can cross the blood brain barrier ??                                                                                                                                                               just  read an American paper that says tetracycline good but increased success  with  AMPICILLIN / GENTAMICIN  not familiar  ab's

[chonty]

No soil contamination that i can see and also eating out of trough. I echo oldshep. Thankyou for the replies. Suzanne thank you for your advice. I really dont expect any live lambs here, but i can always hope. Will be keeping very close eye for possibility of lambs dead inside. Funny I was going to pick up some chloramphenicol ointment tom as thought it couldnt hurt. Thanks again all and will keep updated.

[Me]

Mortality rates are high, around 30%, sadly nursing care and early intervention don't always make the difference you would like, though treated correctly improvement can be rapid

[chonty]

Bit of an update. Dont want to get my hopes up too high but she is not leaning nearly as much as she was and salivation is less. Very loose stools (that'll be all that glucose then ). Still doesnt want to eat so persevering with water/life aid drenches. Heres to the beginning of my lambing annual leave!

[shep53]

YOU have to just keep going , I had 3 cases last year  ,2 lambed successfully and are in lamb again , but both took a couple of weeks nursing .         forgot to say last night that the infection will have been picked up 2-3wks ago , so if it was in a bale of hay it will be long gone

[Me]

If you suspect Listeria give Penecillin.

[chonty]

Well we are 4 days in to high dosage penicillin and she ate some grass this afternoon. Still putting her in at night but shes nibbling hay and mix so next lets see if those lambs of hers have survived. Fingers crossed.

[Daisys Mum]

  For you and ewe