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Sheep ringworm
Ringworm is not a worm, despite its name: it is a disease caused by microscopic fungi that feed on keratin, the material from which skin, hair and wool are made. It can be recognized by its shape: round, well-defined patches, where the hair...
What is it?
Ringworm is not a worm, despite its name: it is a disease caused by microscopic fungi that feed on keratin, the material from which skin, hair and wool are made.
It can be recognized by its shape: round, well-defined patches, where the hair is broken or absent, covered with grayish scales or dry crusts, which expand into a circle.
In sheep, it is mainly seen on the head - around the eyes, on the nose, at the base and on the edge of the ears - and on the neck, that is to say in areas with little wool. It can also affect the body.
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:
Round or oval patches, clearly demarcated, the size of a coin then larger, where wool or hair is missing.
Grayish, mealy surface, covered with scales or dry crusts that adhere to the skin.
The plaque enlarges outwards, sometimes with a center which begins to grow back while the border progresses: this is the ring-shaped appearance which gave its other name to the disease.
Typical location in sheep: head, around the eyes, nose, base and edge of the ears, neck, sometimes back and sides.
Skin under the plaque slightly red, thickened, sometimes gray on old lesions.
Itching generally moderate, or even absent: ringworm itches much less than scabies or lice, which helps not to confuse them.
Several animals from the same batch, often young, present lesions at the same time.
The general condition remains normal: the animals eat and behave normally, except in cases of very extensive lesions.
The lesions appear and spread in winter, in buildings, and often regress in spring with the sun and release to pasture.
When to consult without delay
This list does not replace veterinary advice. It gathers situations that justify a prompt consultation.
Causes and risk factors
Microscopic fungi colonize the surface layer of the skin and the inside of the hair, which they digest: the hair breaks close to the skin and the plaque becomes exposed.
Contamination occurs through spores, extremely solid forms of resistance, which survive for months or even longer on walls, feeders, feeders, rubbing posts, litter and equipment.
Intact skin resists well: you generally need an entry point, even a tiny one — friction against a feeder, insect bite, prolonged humidity, injury — for the fungus to take hold.
Young animals are most affected because their defenses are not yet established. Adults develop resistance after an initial attack, without being fully protected.
The promiscuity, darkness and humidity of winter buildings provide all the favorable conditions.
Animals that are poorly nourished, deficient, or weakened by other diseases develop more extensive forms and heal more slowly.
Young animals, lambs and lambs, whose immunity is still incomplete.
Accommodation in buildings during the winter, high density, darkness, humidity, poor ventilation.
Old buildings, rough walls, guardrails and rubbing posts never disinfected, reused from one strip to another.
Animals that are deficient, malnourished, or already weakened by internal parasites or another disease.
Mixture of animals of different origins, purchases without quarantine, gatherings.
Mowing and restraint equipment shared without disinfection.
Presence of other affected animals on the farm, notably cattle, in which ringworm is common.
Transmission
By direct contact between animals, in particular between young people grouped together in a building.
By the contaminated environment, which is the big reservoir: walls, barriers, fences, feeders, posts, litter, restraining and mowing equipment. The spores survive there for a very long time and are enough to recontaminate a new group of animals in a room that has been empty in the meantime.
By the hands, clothes and boots of people moving from one lot to another.
By the introduction of a carrier animal, sometimes without visible lesion.
To humans, through direct contact with animals, wool or the contaminated environment: this point is developed below.
Diagnosis and care
Diagnosis is the veterinarian's responsibility, based on clinical examination and laboratory tests. Care is decided case by case.
The veterinarian often recognizes the disease by the appearance of the lesions and their location, but the appearance alone is not always enough: other sheep skin diseases result in bare and crusty patches.
Confirmation involves taking a sample of hair and scales from the edge of the lesion, examined under a microscope and possibly cultured in the laboratory. Cultivation takes time but identifies the mushroom with certainty.
The veterinarian particularly rules out scabies and lice, which make you itch a lot more, as well as dermatophilosis, whose crusts are moist and painful and follow periods of rain.
He examines the whole lot, because the beginning lesions are discreet and the true extent of the problem is almost always underestimated.
It assesses the general condition and diet, which determine the speed of healing.
It systematically addresses the risk for the family and for the people who handle the animals: this is an essential part of the consultation.
Treatment
In an animal in good condition, the lesions often heal on their own within a few weeks, especially with the return to pasture, sun and dry air. This is no reason to do nothing: all this time, the animal contaminates its fellow animals, the building and people.
External antifungal treatments exist, applied locally or washed, and are prescribed by the veterinarian depending on the extent of the lesions and the population concerned.
Treating the environment is as important as treating animals, and it is often overlooked. The spores survive for a very long time on walls, headrails and equipment: careful cleaning followed by disinfection with a product active against fungi, chosen with the veterinarian, is essential to avoid recontaminating the next strip.
Affected animals separate from healthy animals as long as the lesions are active.
Exposing animals to daylight and dry air clearly promotes healing; darkness and humidity maintain it.
Correct nutrition and correction of deficiencies accelerate healing.
No dose or rhythm can be improvised. Never apply diesel, waste oil, pure bleach or homemade preparations to an animal's skin: it is ineffective, it burns and aggravates the lesions.
Wear gloves for all treatments, and wash thoroughly afterwards.
The withdrawal periods for meat and milk apply to the products used: ask the veterinarian.
Treatment depends on the cause and the animal's condition: it must be determined by a veterinarian. No self-medication.
Prevention
Clean and disinfect buildings between flocks of animals, paying particular attention to feeders, feeders, barriers and rubbing posts, with a product active against fungi.
Avoid overdensity, improve ventilation and bring light into winter buildings.
Quarantine and examine any animal purchased, particularly looking at the head and ears.
Rapidly isolate affected animals to limit contamination of the lot and the building.
Take the animals out to pasture as soon as the season permits: the sun and dry air are powerful allies.
Clean and disinfect mowing and containment equipment between lots and between farms.
Maintain good nutritional status and correct deficiencies: a lamb in good condition gets rid of ringworm much more quickly.
Protect people: gloves for handling affected animals, careful washing of hands and forearms, changed work clothes, and children kept away from affected batches.
Possible complications
Extension of lesions to a large part of the body in young, deficient or weakened animals.
Bacterial superinfection of scraped or damaged plaques.
Devalued fleece and skins, with persistent defects on the leathers.
Growth retardation in very extended forms in lambs.
Long-lasting contamination of the building, with reappearance of the disease on each new flock of animals.
Contamination of the breeder, his family and the people who handle the animals: this is the most frequent and most underestimated complication.
When to see a veterinarian
Round, well-demarcated patches, without wool, appear on the head, ears or neck of your animals.
Several lambs from the same batch have lesions at the same time.
The plaques enlarge or multiply despite the passage of weeks.
An animal has extensive lesions on the body or is losing weight.
You are hesitating between ringworm, scabies and lice: have the veterinarian decide, the treatments have nothing to do with each other.
You, a member of your family or a child have round, scaly patches on the arms, neck or face: consult a doctor, reporting contact with animals.
Transmission to humans
Sheep ringworm is easily transmitted to humans: it is one of the most common zoonoses in livestock farming, and it is often underestimated because it is not serious.
Contamination occurs through direct contact with affected animals, with their wool, or simply with the environment: walls, barriers and equipment carry very resistant spores.
In humans, it causes round, red, scaly patches with a raised border, which extend into a ring and itch. They appear mostly on the forearms, hands, neck and face — the contact areas. On the scalp, in children, they can cause hair to fall out in patches.
Children who approach and carry lambs are most exposed, and they have the most extensive lesions.
Medical advice is necessary: human ringworm is treatable, but it does not disappear quickly on its own and is transmitted between members of the same family. Tell the doctor that you are in contact with affected sheep, this information helps him a lot.
The precautions are simple: wear gloves when handling and caring for affected animals, wash your hands and forearms thoroughly after work, change work clothes, do not let children handle animals from an affected lot, and do not bring wool or contaminated material home.
Prognosis
The prognosis for the animal is good: the vast majority of cases heal, spontaneously or with treatment, and the wool grows back.
Recovery, however, takes several weeks, sometimes longer in young animals or in poor condition.
Cured animals develop a resistance which partly protects them afterwards.
The real problem lies elsewhere: without disinfection of the building, the spores remain in place and the disease reappears on each new flock of lambs, year after year. This is where lasting control comes into play.
Lesions in humans also heal well with appropriate medical treatment.
Frequently asked questions
Can ringworm from my sheep pass to my children?
Yes, and it's common. Children who carry and pet lambs develop round, scaly patches on the arms, neck or face, sometimes on the scalp. It can be treated well, but you must consult a doctor and tell him that you have affected animals. In the meantime, keep children away from the affected lot.
Should we treat if the lesions go away on their own?
Spontaneous recovery exists in animals in good condition, but it takes weeks during which the animal contaminates its peers, the building and your family. The veterinarian decides whether to treat the animals; on the other hand, isolating those affected and disinfecting the premises is justified in all cases.
Why does the moth come back to my sheepfold every winter?
Because the fungus leaves extremely resistant spores on walls, feeders, feeders and equipment, where they survive for a very long time. A building that remains empty is not necessarily cleaned up. Without cleaning and then disinfection with a product active against fungi, each new flock of lambs becomes contaminated in turn.
How do you know if it's ringworm and not scabies?
Two simple clues provide guidance, without replacing the veterinarian: ringworm gives round, dry and well-defined patches, especially on the head, and causes little scratching; scabies cause animals to rub themselves until their wool is torn off. Confirmation is made in the laboratory, on hairs taken from the edge of the lesion or on a skin scraping.
References
CDC — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
ANSES — Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire (France)
Content reviewed by the TunisieVet editorial team · Updated 11 August 2026
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