Erysipelas arthritis in lambs
Erysipelas arthritis is an infection of the lamb's joints caused by Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, a bacterium very widespread in the environment, known in pigs under the name mullet. The bacteria enters through a recent wound or through the...
What is it?
Erysipelas arthritis is an infection of the lamb's joints caused by Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, a bacterium very widespread in the environment, known in pigs under the name mullet.
The bacteria enters through a recent wound or through the navel: tail cutting, castration, buckle installation, clipping, injury, poorly disinfected umbilical cord. It reaches the blood and then settles in the joints.
It survives well in damp floors, soiled litter and especially in reused antiparasitic baths or showers: a dirty bath contaminated after mowing is a classic source of clustered cases.
Commonly observed signs
These signs are neither exhaustive nor specific. Only a veterinarian can establish a diagnosis.
Related signs — each one links to its page:
Lameness appearing a few days to a few weeks after a procedure or injury.
General stiffness: the lamb walks slowly, with an arched back, gets up with difficulty and often lies down again.
One or more swollen, warm and painful joints, most often in the limbs, sometimes several at the same time.
Lamb that refuses to move, remains lying down, allows itself to be caught easily even though it was previously fleeing.
Decrease in net growth: the lamb suckles or grazes less because it suffers from moving around.
Fever and depression in the initial phase, often discreet and unnoticed.
Gradual weight loss in lambs lying around.
In older forms, the joint remains thickened and stiff, with lameness that persists despite any treatment.
Cases often occur grouped in a batch, a few days after the same intervention.
When to consult without delay
This list does not replace veterinary advice. It gathers situations that justify a prompt consultation.
Causes and risk factors
The bacteria is present in the environment: soil, litter, organic matter, and it is also carried by many animals without making them sick.
She needs an entry point: wound from tail cutting, castration, buckling, clipping, fight or equipment wound, umbilical cord poorly disinfected at birth.
It survives for a long time in water and organic matter, which explains the role of antiparasitic baths and showers, the solution of which is reused from one batch to another without being renewed.
Once in the blood, it attaches to the joints and causes inflammation which often damages the cartilage irreversibly.
Lambs poorly protected by colostrum are more easily affected.
Tail cutting, castration, curling or clipping carried out with non-disinfected equipment or on dirty animals.
Umbilical cord not disinfected at birth.
Antiparasitic baths and showers whose solution is reused on several batches without renewal, particularly just after shearing when the animals have cuts.
Wet and loaded litter boxes, muddy pens, high density.
Lambs having received little colostrum.
Presence of pigs on the farm or history of red mullet, the same bacteria circulating in this species.
Injuries from fighting, equipment or transport.
Wet season and poorly drained premises.
Transmission
There is no classic direct contagion: each lamb becomes contaminated through its own wound or navel, upon contact with a charged environment.
The grouped cases can be explained by a common source: the same tail docking or castration session with non-disinfected equipment, the same soiled antiparasitic bath, the same dirty premises.
The bacteria persists in damp soil, litter and bath water.
This bacteria can infect humans through a hand wound when handling animals, carcasses or contaminated products: it is a known occupational risk among breeders, butchers and shearers.
Diagnosis and care
Diagnosis is the veterinarian's responsibility, based on clinical examination and laboratory tests. Care is decided case by case.
The veterinarian examines the joints: number of joints affected, heat, swelling, pain, and makes the link with recent interventions on the lot.
He distinguishes this disease from other arthritis of the lamb, in particular polyarthritis of chlamydial origin and arthritis which follows an infection of the navel: the behavior and the prognosis differ.
A puncture of the joint can be taken for analysis and culture, which allows the bacteria to be identified and its sensitivity to antibiotics to be tested.
Samples can be sent to the laboratory when several lambs are affected or when a first treatment has failed.
In the event of grouped cases, the veterinarian investigates the common source: tail docking equipment, castration hygiene, antiparasitic bath, condition of the litter. It is this investigation that ends the series.
Treatment
Treatment is based on antibiotics prescribed by the veterinarian. This bacteria generally responds well, provided treatment is started early.
The decisive factor is the time limit: a joint treated in the first days can recover, a joint that is already thickened and deformed has permanent after-effects despite any treatment.
An anti-inflammatory is often combined, on prescription, to relieve pain and allow the lamb to move and eat.
Affected lambs must be placed on thick, dry litter, with water and food within reach: a suffering lamb will not seek them out.
Lambs that do not recover and remain lame must be decided with the veterinarian: keeping an animal that is suffering and no longer growing is neither profitable nor acceptable.
From the first case, it is necessary to seek and correct the common source: this is what prevents subsequent cases.
Withdrawal times for meat should be requested from the veterinarian and respected, especially before Eid.
Treatment depends on the cause and the animal's condition: it must be determined by a veterinarian. No self-medication.
Prevention
Strict hygiene of all interventions: tail cutting, castration and buckle installation equipment cleaned and disinfected, disinfected again between animals, clean hands, clean and dry animals.
Do not carry out these interventions on muddy ground or in a very dirty park, and avoid combining them with other stress.
Disinfect the umbilical cord at birth, using the product indicated by the veterinarian.
Renew the solution of antiparasitic baths and showers and do not use freshly shorn or injured animals: this is a classic source of grouped cases.
Ensure that each lamb receives colostrum in its first hours of life.
Maintain dry and abundant litter, clean regularly, drain muddy parks.
Monitor the flocks during the days following an intervention and quickly isolate any lame lamb.
In farms where the disease returns, discuss vaccination with the veterinarian.
Vaccination
Vaccines against this bacteria exist; they are mainly used in pigs, but can be used in sheep in farms which experience repeated cases.
Their availability and conditions of use vary depending on the country and the products: it is up to the veterinarian to say what is possible and relevant in your situation.
As with other vaccines, protection is obtained by a primary vaccination in several injections followed by boosters; the schedule is set by the veterinarian.
Vaccination does not in any way replace the hygiene of the interventions and the renewal of antiparasitic baths: in most farms, correcting these two points is enough to make the problem disappear.
The multivalent clostridial vaccines usually used in sheep do not protect against this bacteria.
Possible complications
Permanent lameness and stiffness, with deformed joints.
Growth retardation that cannot be recovered: affected lambs remain below the lot until sale.
Weight loss and downgrading of carcasses.
In severe forms, generalized attack with fever, sometimes cardiac complications.
Clustered cases repeated at each intervention session until the common source is identified.
Lambs culled prematurely, with direct economic loss.
When to see a veterinarian
A lamb limps or walks stiffly in the days or weeks following a tail dock, castration, shearing or antiparasitic bath.
A joint is swollen, hot and painful.
Several lambs from the same batch are lame at the same time: there is a common source to be found.
A lamb remains lying down, refuses to get up or allows itself to be caught without reacting.
A lamb stops growing while its peers progress.
A lamb has been limping for several weeks despite treatment: it is necessary to reassess and decide with the veterinarian.
Transmission to humans
This bacteria can infect humans, usually through a small wound or puncture to the hand when handling animals, carcasses, offal or contaminated material. It is a known occupational hazard among farmers, shearers, butchers and people who handle fish.
It most often causes a localized skin infection: the affected area, often a finger or hand, becomes purplish red, swollen, painful and hot, with slow progression around the wound. Fever is often absent at first.
More serious forms, with generalized or cardiac involvement, remain rare but exist: this is why a lesion of this type should not be neglected.
The procedure to follow is simple: wear gloves when performing interventions and handling animals, immediately wash and disinfect any cuts, and avoid handling animals with an open wound on the hand.
In case of painful purplish redness around a wound after handling animals, consult a doctor and tell him that you work with animals: this information directly guides treatment.
Prognosis
A lamb treated from the first days of lameness often recovers well.
A lamb treated late, whose joint is already thickened, retains permanent lameness and stunted growth: this is the most common case when the first signs are attributed to a simple injury.
The disease rarely kills, but it penalizes affected animals for a long time.
On a batch scale, the prognosis is excellent as long as the common source is identified and corrected: hygiene of intervention equipment, renewal of antiparasitic baths, cleanliness of premises.
Frequently asked questions
Several of my lambs are lame after tail docking, is this related?
Most likely. A fresh wound associated with undisinfected equipment or soiled soil is the classic entry point for this bacteria, which will then lodge in the joints. Call the veterinarian: lambs treated early recover, others retain permanent lameness.
Could my antiparasitic bath be the cause?
Yes, this is a very common source of cluster cases. The bacteria survives for a long time in a reused solution loaded with organic matter, and freshly shorn animals have small cuts that open the way for it. Renew the solution and do not bathe injured or just-shorn animals.
Is this the same thing as lamb's polyarthritis which I have already been told about?
Not necessarily. Several different microbes cause swollen joints in lambs, and treatment and prevention are not the same. A joint puncture or analysis allows the veterinarian to make a decision, which is worth the effort when cases are repeated.
Can I catch anything from handling these lambs?
This bacteria can infect humans through a cut on the hand and cause a purplish-red, swollen and painful lesion. Wear gloves for procedures, wash and disinfect any cuts, and consult a doctor, specifying that you work with animals, if such a lesion appears.
References
FAO — Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture
Content reviewed by the TunisieVet editorial team · Updated 30 October 2026
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