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Pulp kidney disease
Pulp kidney disease is the most common and brutal form of enterotoxemia in sheep. It is due to a bacteria already present in small quantities in the intestine of most healthy animals, Clostridium perfringens type D. As long as digestion rem...
What is it?
Pulp kidney disease is the most common and brutal form of enterotoxemia in sheep. It is due to a bacteria already present in small quantities in the intestine of most healthy animals, Clostridium perfringens type D. As long as digestion remains regular, this bacteria does nothing. As soon as a large quantity of food rich in starch or sugar enters the intestine at once, it multiplies massively and releases a powerful toxin. This toxin passes into the blood, damages the vessels and reaches the brain. It is almost always the most beautiful, best-fed and most advanced lambs of the lot that die first. This is the hallmark of the disease and what makes it so confusing: the breeder loses exactly the animals he cared for best. The name comes from the appearance of the kidneys, soft and disintegrated, that the veterinarian observes during the autopsy carried out quickly after death. In Tunisia, the weeks of barley fattening which precede Eid are a classic period of losses: the ration changes suddenly, the animal gorges itself, the bacteria takes advantage of it.
Key point
A devastating disease that strikes the best lambs, often without prior signs. We don't treat it, we prevent it: vaccination and gradual dietary transitions. Never open an animal found dead yourself.
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:
The most common sign is the absence of any sign: the animal is found dead, in good condition, often lying on its side, head thrown back and limbs outstretched.
When signs appear, they rarely last more than a few hours. The lamb moves away from the crowd, refuses the trough, remains motionless or lies apart.
Marked nervous disorders: staggering gait, animal which stumbles over obstacles, which seems to no longer see, which leans its head against a wall.
Tremors, pedaling movements when lying down, convulsions, grinding of teeth, foaming at the mouth.
Rapid, shallow breathing.
Diarrhea is possible but is often missing: never wait for diarrhea to think about enterotoxemia.
In goats, the disease more readily takes a digestive form, with sometimes bloody diarrhea and a slightly less severe course.
In adult ewes, the progression may be slower, with profound depression lasting a few hours before death.
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 part of the normal flora of the intestine; its presence is not abnormal in itself.
Everything starts from a sudden nutritional imbalance: rapid switch to barley or concentrate, too rapid increase in the ration, distribution in one go, hungry animals which gorge themselves after deprivation, entry into young and rich regrowth after a period of rationing.
Under these conditions, the food is not fully digested upstream and arrives in excess in the intestine. The bacteria multiplies there explosively and produces its toxin.
The toxin passes through the intestinal wall, passes into the blood and causes brain damage and accumulation of fluid in the body: it is the toxin that kills, not the bacteria itself.
The spores of this bacteria survive for a very long time in the soil, litter and buildings: a farm which has experienced cases remains affected in subsequent years.
Feeder lambs receiving lots of concentrate, particularly barley, and the biggest eaters of the lot.
Too rapid increase in the ration, distribution in a single meal, empty trough between two distributions then animals rushing into it.
Sudden transition from pasture to building, or from hay to concentrate, without transition.
Lambs under the mother of which the ewe is very milky, which suckle significant quantities.
Lack of roughage in the ration: without sufficient hay or straw, the rumen functions poorly and allows too much starch to pass through.
Animals not vaccinated, or vaccinated only once without booster.
Rapid fattening before Eid, purchases of animals put directly to barley on their arrival.
Batch changes, transport fast followed by a hearty meal.
Associated digestive parasitism, which disrupts the balance of the intestine.
Transmission
It is not a contagious disease: a sick animal does not contaminate its neighbors, and there is no risk for humans.
When several animals die on the same day, it is not a contagion: it is because all received the same ration at the same time.
Spores are permanently present in the environment, in the soil and in the digestive tract of healthy animals. We cannot eliminate them from a breeding farm.
It is therefore diet and vaccination, never the isolation of patients, which solve the problem.
Diagnosis and care
Diagnosis is the veterinarian's responsibility, based on clinical examination and laboratory tests. Care is decided case by case.
When faced with sudden deaths in a group, the first reflex is not to treat but to call the veterinarian: several very different diseases give the same picture, and some are dangerous for humans.
Absolute rule: never open the carcass of a dead animal yourself. As long as the anthrax has not been ruled out, opening the corpse exposes the family and permanently contaminates the area. Only the veterinarian decides to perform an autopsy.
The autopsy, carried out quickly, is the most useful examination: the softened kidneys, the fluid around the heart and the appearance of the intestine are highly orienting. Kidney damage disappears quickly after death, hence the importance of calling without delay.
Samples of intestinal contents may be sent to the laboratory to test for the toxin and confirm the diagnosis.
The presence of sugar in the urine is an element of guidance that the veterinarian can easily check on site.
The veterinarian also examines the ration, the trough and the rate of distribution: this is almost always where the cause is found.
Treatment
There is no reliable treatment once the toxin has passed into the blood: animals which show nervous signs die in the vast majority of cases despite everything we can try.
The veterinarian can implement supportive treatment on an animal that is still standing, with rehydration, anti-inflammatory and antibiotics on prescription, but the results remain disappointing.
Sera containing antibodies against the toxin exist in certain countries and can be used on animals from the same batch that are still healthy; their availability and interest are assessed with the veterinarian.
The real emergency concerns the rest of the flock, not the affected animal. It is necessary to immediately reduce the concentrate, add roughage as desired, ensure permanent access to water and spread out the distributions.
No dose or product should be decided on your own initiative: treatments given randomly waste time without changing the outcome.
Withdrawal periods for meat and milk apply to all administered products and should be requested from the veterinarian, particularly in the run-up to Eid.
Treatment depends on the cause and the animal's condition: it must be determined by a veterinarian. No self-medication.
Prevention
Vaccination of the herd is by far the most effective measure. No feeding management, no matter how careful, can replace a properly vaccinated herd.
Any change in diet is done gradually, over several days: incremental increase in concentrate, never a jump from one day to the next.
Distribute the concentrate in several meals rather than all at once, and prevent the animals from remaining in an empty trough for a long time.
Leaving roughage, hay or straw, permanently available: this is what makes the rumen work and limits the arrival of starch in the intestine.
Provide enough space at the trough so that the most gluttonous do not eat the others' portion.
Clean water available at all times.
Never release hungry animals onto young regrowth or into a room where the concentrate is accessible.
When purchasing, do not put the animals on barley as soon as they arrive: leave them on fodder for a few days, while they are getting started.
Control digestive parasitism, which weakens intestinal balance.
Vaccination
Multipurpose clostridial vaccines, which protect against several sheep clostridioses in a single injection, are available and widely used in sheep farming. This is the only real lever against this disease.
The principle is always the same: a primary vaccination in several injections, then regular boosters. A single injection does not provide adequate protection: this is the most common and costly error.
Vaccinating ewes before lambing allows protection to be transmitted to the lambs through colostrum during the first weeks of life. This protection then runs out, and the lambs must be vaccinated in turn.
Protection does not occur immediately after the injection: vaccinating the day before fattening does not protect. Vaccination of batches intended for barley must be anticipated, which the veterinarian will agree with you.
The exact schedule, choice of vaccine and timing of boosters are established by the veterinarian based on the management of the herd.
Vaccines are kept cool, without breaking the cold chain, and an opened vial cannot be kept from one campaign to the next.
Vaccination is not a treatment: vaccinating a batch on the day the deaths begin does not stop the current episode.
Possible complications
Death of the animal, most often without the possibility of intervention.
Serial losses in a fattening lot as long as the ration is not corrected: deaths continue day after day.
Survivors who have nervous after-effects, remain blind or never resume growth.
Economic losses concentrated on the best animals, often at the worst time of the year.
Discouragement and unnecessary treatments when the dietary cause is not identified.
When to see a veterinarian
A lamb in good condition is found dead without appearing sick: call the veterinarian the same day and do not open the body yourself.
Several animals from the same batch die within a few days.
An animal staggers, stumbles into obstacles, trembles or convulses.
Deaths occur in the days following a change in diet, barley or the arrival of purchased animals.
A lamb remains lying down, its head thrown back: it’s an emergency.
Before starting fattening for Eid, take advice on vaccination and food transition, rather than waiting for the first losses.
Prognosis
The individual prognosis is very poor: an animal that shows nervous signs almost always dies, whatever the treatment.
The prognosis of the batch, on the other hand, is good as soon as the ration is corrected: the losses stop within a few days.
On a farm scale, a herd that is correctly vaccinated and fed through gradual transitions no longer experiences this type of episode.
Frequently asked questions
Why are it always my most beautiful lambs that die?
Because they are the ones who eat the most. The disease is triggered by an excess of rich food arriving suddenly in the intestine: the most gluttonous and best-fed animal is therefore the most exposed. This is not a coincidence, it is the signature of enterotoxemia.
I vaccinated my lambs, why am I still losing them?
The most common causes are a single injection without a booster, a vaccination done too close to fattening so that protection has time to set in, or a poorly stored vaccine. Review the schedule with your veterinarian before concluding that the vaccine is not working.
Can I eat the meat of a lamb that died of enterotoxemia?
No. The meat of an animal found dead should never be consumed or sold, regardless of the presumed cause. The risk is not only enterotoxemia: as long as a veterinarian has not ruled out other diseases, some of which are dangerous for humans, the carcass must be ruled out.
I want to fatten lambs on barley for Eid, how can I avoid losses?
Three things: vaccinate early enough so that protection is installed on the day of fattening, increase the barley ration in stages over several days, and leave hay or straw available at all times. Also provide enough space at the trough so that the strongest do not gorge themselves.
References
FAO — Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture
WOAH — Organisation mondiale de la santé animale (ex-OIE)
Content reviewed by the TunisieVet editorial team · Updated 11 August 2026
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