📍 DE — North Rhine-Westphalia🐑 Sheep🍼 Reproduction and birth
🎨 Illustration — reconstruction of the documented case, not a real photo of the animal
⚠️ This information is provided for awareness only and does not replace an examination by a veterinarian.
🤖 Summary produced automatically from the scientific publication cited at the bottom of the page.
Two stillborn lambs found in a pasture uncovered a rare bacterial disease almost never reported in Germany.
What happened?
In January 2024, passersby found two stillborn lambs on a pasture where a large flock of sheep had been grazing in Germany. The veterinary authorities were notified because the cause of death was unclear. The lambs were sent for a full postmortem examination to look for an infectious cause. The farm held about 2,300 ewes and rams plus 700 lambs, with groups frequently mixed together.
🔎 What did the vet find?
The postmortem showed that both lambs had underdeveloped lungs, with fluid inhaled before birth. One lamb also had recent liver inflammation. Special tests revealed the bacterium Brucella ovis in the lungs, and in one lamb's liver as well. The bacterium was also isolated in the lab from both lambs' organs. Two rams from the same flock later tested positive in blood tests for this bacterium, while ewes that had recently aborted tested negative.
🩺 What did the vet do?
ℹ️ Treatment given to THIS animal, decided by its veterinarian. It is not a prescription: never apply it without veterinary advice.
No treatment could be given to the lambs since they were already dead when found. For the two positive rams, the veterinarian advised the farmer to cull them promptly as a precaution, or at least isolate them so they could no longer breed. The farmer chose to stop using them for breeding and kept them only for fattening. A third ram, which had swollen testicles, later died without further examination.
🖼️ The case in pictures
Illustration — case reconstruction①Before treatment
Two stillborn lambs are found on the pasture with no obvious cause.
Illustration — case reconstruction②Examination
Postmortem and lab tests reveal a rare bacterium, then rams from the flock are tested.
Illustration — case reconstruction③Treatment
The two positive rams are withdrawn from breeding on the vet's advice.
Illustration — case reconstruction④After treatment
Fifteen months later, examination of the slaughtered rams confirms the disease in one of them.
✅ What happened next?
No increase in abortions or stillbirths was later observed in the flock. Fifteen months afterward, once the two rams were slaughtered, examination of their genital organs confirmed the bacterium in one of them, with a visible abscess near the epididymis. The case was officially reported to German authorities as a notifiable disease.
⚠️ Advice for the farmer
A ram can carry this bacterium without visible signs: have breeding rams' testicles checked regularly and tested before each breeding season.
📚 Source
Source
PubMed Central
Title
Ovine epididymitis - a neglected notifiable disease in Germany: a case report.
Authors
Brangsch H, Peters M, Liebler-Tenorio EM, Poppe M, Moog U, Ashford RT, Melzer F.
Illustration — case reconstruction 
Illustration — case reconstruction 
Illustration — case reconstruction 
Illustration — case reconstruction 
