Australian veterinarians are urging sheep producers to be aware of Campylobacter, a common bacteria found across the country which is the leading cause of infectious abortions in sheep.
As the world's largest exporter of sheepmeat and a significant contributor to the Australian economy, experts are calling on Australian farmers to protect their flocks to ensure they get more lambs on the ground and to help improve the overall profitability of the sheep industry.
Campylobacter is a bacterial infection that causes late-term abortions and still births in ewes.
There are two strains of Campylobacter - C. jejuni and C. fetus fetus - that are known to cause lamb abortions with 95 per cent of Australian farms testing positive for at least one strain of the bacteria.
It presents itself in the intestines of healthy sheep and can be spread in faeces, urine and aborted foetuses.
This leads to contaminated pastures, water sources and therefore the ingestion of the bacteria by previously unexposed sheep.
Infected ewes appear healthy and productive and may only show signs of Campylobacter when they don't produce a lamb.
Initially, Campylobacter was only thought to be an issue in cool, high rainfall regions in Victoria, Tasmania and southern parts of NSW, however, now experts are seeing infections in drier, mixed farming and pastoral areas across all of Australia.
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Coopers Animal Health veterinarian and technical advisor Dr Jim Walsh said lamb losses from Campylobacter varied from region to region.
"However, what we are seeing is low-level losses across many farms in NSW, particularly in first-lambers," Dr Walsh said.
"Farmers have come to accept that maidens will have lower lambing rates than older ewes but it doesn't have to be the case with good management and prevention.
"There is value in sheep and therefore it's a no-brainer to focus on all influences on reproduction."
Dr Walsh encouraged producers to consider the risks associated with not vaccinating and to be aware that some flock management practices increased the likelihood of Campylobacter being an issue.
He said producers should be aware of the following practices when it came to Campylobacter:
- Joining maiden or ewe lambs
- Trail feeding pregnant ewes
- Cell grazing pregnant ewes
- Containment feeding pregnant ewes
- Buying/transporting new ewes onto the farm
He said if sheep farmers suspected or had identified Campylobacter on their property, they should talk to their local veterinarian or rural reseller and discuss vaccination protocols.
Veterinarians also encourage producers to pregnancy scan their ewes to measure conception rates and to provide a reference point from when lambing percentages can be accurately assessed.
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