High case fatality rate, high loss and serious sheep raising, beware of sheep pox epidemic.

Raising sheep

Sheep pox disease is an acute febrile contagious disease caused by sheep pox virus in sheep and goats. Sheep pox virus mainly exists in skin, mucous membrane papules, pustules, crusts and nasal mucosal secretions of diseased sheep. when the body temperature of diseased sheep rises, there is also a large number of virus in the blood of diseased sheep, and sick sheep is the main source of infection. and mainly through the air through the respiratory tract infection, can also invade the body through the injured skin or mucous membrane. Its feeding and management personnel, nursing tools, fur products, feed, bedding grass and its external parasites are all infectious vectors, and lambs are more sensitive than adult sheep with high mortality. The prevalence of sheep pox disease in sheep will not only directly lead to a high mortality rate of diseased sheep, but also cause miscarriage of pregnant ewes and loss of production capacity of most diseased ewes after illness, which will bring great economic losses to sheep farmers.

(1) cautiously introduce varieties and strengthen quarantine to strictly prevent the introduction of disease sources

When a sheep farmer introduces or buys sheep for feeding, in addition to introducing to a regular farm with a "production and operation license for breeding livestock and poultry" recognized and issued by the animal husbandry department at or above the county level, the breeder shall also issue to the introducer relevant certificates such as "breeder sheep certificate", "sheep breeding pedigree file" and "veterinary health certificate". Before introducing or purchasing sheep, sheep farmers should also issue relevant certificates such as "sheep breeding certificate", "sheep pedigree file" and "veterinary health certificate". You should go to the animal quarantine department in advance to investigate whether there is a sheep pox epidemic or not, and choose areas where there is no epidemic disease to introduce or purchase sheep. When introducing or buying sheep, they should go through the local animal quarantine department to strictly quarantine and prove that the sheep are healthy before introducing or buying sheep. After introducing breeding sheep or buying sheep, sheep farmers should also carry out strict reinspection and quarantine, and isolate and raise sheep for more than half a month. After being diagnosed and healthy, they can be transferred to the mixed group of fenced houses to raise normally, and strictly prevent the infection and epidemic of sheep pox disease caused by the introduction or purchase of sheep.

(2) do a good job of sheep immunization and improve the immunity of sheep

Sheep farmers can vaccinate sheep with attenuated sheep pox vaccine in spring and autumn every year. Sheep pox vaccination of pregnant ewes can easily cause miscarriage of ewes. Sheep farmers should be cautious in vaccinating pregnant ewes with sheep pox vaccine, which can be vaccinated about 20 days after delivery. Newborn lambs can obtain higher levels of antibodies from maternal colostrum, but sheep pox vaccine should be immunized in time at about 30 days after birth. To improve the overall immunity of the sheep.

(3) do a good job in the feeding and management of sheep to reduce the incidence of sheep

According to the nutritional status of the sheep, sheep farmers should properly feed the sheep with concentrate feed to gain weight and keep fat. Soak soybeans 40%, corn 30%, barley 20%, wheat 10%, soak in warm water for 6 ~ 8 hours, grind into pulp, and add 10% ~ 15% soybean cake, 5% ~ 8% bran, 1% salt and 3% bone meal. Sheep are fed 2 ~ 3 times a day, each time 50 ~ 100 g mixed concentrate feed The feeding amount of mixed concentrate feed should also be increased appropriately for young sheep and pregnant ewes. At the same time, we should continue to do a good job of keeping the sheep warm and cold, keep the sheep house clean and dry, and regularly disinfect the sheep house, raising utensils and the surrounding environment, so as to reduce the chance that the sheep will naturally be infected with sheep pox.

(4) timely isolation and treatment of diseased sheep, and do a good job of post-disinfection and harmless treatment of sick and dead sheep.

Once sheep farmers find that there is an epidemic of sheep pox disease in their flocks, they should isolate diseased sheep and suspected diseased sheep in time, and thoroughly disinfect the enclosure, raising equipment and sports ground. The infected sheep can be washed with 0.1% potassium permanganate solution, then smeared with iodine glycerin or Yunnan Baiyao plus propolis alcohol mixture, 2 ~ 3 times a day until the sick sheep are cured; the blood of cured sheep with sheep pox disease can also be extracted and the serum can be separated for treatment. Generally, 10 ~ 20 ml of serum is injected subcutaneously in each adult sheep and 5 ~ 10 ml in each young sheep. In addition to the symptomatic treatment of the affected part of the diseased sheep, it should also be treated with corresponding antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs. The sheep can be injected with virulent 0.1g / kg body weight, penicillin potassium or sodium salt 4 ~ 5 mg, once a day for 3 days as a course of treatment, and another course of treatment at an interval of 2 ~ 3 days, which can be cured in 2 ~ 3 courses. In addition, in order to prevent the spread of the disease, sheep farmers should strengthen the quarantine, daily hygiene management and disinfection of sheep, strictly prohibit sick or suspected diseased sheep from entering human breeding sites and sheep grazing areas, and disinfect utensils, enclosures and sites contaminated by diseased sheep with 5% ~ 10% quicklime milk, or 1% ~ 2% caustic soda, or 30% plant ash water. Sick and dead sheep must be deeply buried or burned and other harmless treatment, it is strictly forbidden to sell, litter everywhere, strictly prevent the spread of the disease.