Treatment of pregnancy toxaemia in sheep with flunixin meglumine

Abstract

PREGNANCY toxaemia in sheep is a metabolic disorder associated with carrying multiple fetuses (Sargison 2007). It is characterised by hypoglycaemia and hyperketonaemia due to the inability of the ewe to maintain an adequate energy balance in late pregnancy. Common treatments for ewes affected with pregnancy toxaemia include the oral administration of glycerol or propylene glycol solutions, intravenous glucose, and, at more than 135 days of gestation, injection of dexamethasone or beta methasone to induce parturition (Radostits and others 2007), with the aim of eliminating the metabolic demand for energy of the gravid uterus.Breeding for high prolificacy by the introgression of the Booroola mutation has led to the creation of the highly prolific Afec-Assaf strain of sheep (Gootwine and others 2008). The average prolificacy of AfecAssaf ewes is 2·55 lambs born per lambing, with approximately 44 per cent of litters containing three or four lambs.Afec-Assaf ewes are kept in an experimental flock at the Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel, under intensive management conditions, indoors all year round. Reproductive management of the flock includes three to four lambing periods in a year, following oestrus synchronisation, hand-mating and ultrasonographic pregnancy diagnosis at approximately 35 days after mating. The specificity and sensitivity of pregnancy diagnosis for ewes lambing fewer than three lambs (n=388) are 0·93 and 0·89, respectively; in ewes lambing three or more lambs (n=105) the specificity is 0·66 and the sensitivity 0·76 (E. Gootwine, unpublished data). Based on the pregnancy diagnosis results, pregnant ewes are divided into two groups: sheep carrying fewer than three fetuses and sheep carrying three or more fetuses.

Development of a facial expression scale using footrot and mastitis as models of pain in sheep

“…At present, the SPFES has been assessed using footrot as the clinical model and successfully applied to mastitis, a disease causing acute pain in sheep. It is likely that the scale can be used for other conditions that are suspected of being painful, such as pregnancy toxaemia where the administration of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory is known to aid recovery (Zamir et al, 2009). The current scale provides an accurate and reliable method to recognise and assess pain in sheep.…”

Mini review: breeding Awassi and Assaf sheep for diverse management conditions

“…However, it is seldom possible to save the mother and lead her to normal lambing. Aiming to develop appropriate management for handling high-prolific Afec Assaf ewes, Zamir et al (2009) found that combining the propylene glycol treatment with flunixin meglumine, a potent analgesic and antipyretic non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug, dramatically improves both ewe and lamb survival rates.…”

Definition of prepartum hyperketonemia in dairy goats

“…It is known that increasing the size of the litter increased BHBA in the plasma of ewes during late pregnancy (Harmeyer and Schlumbohm, 2006), which could lead to PT. In a study on ewes, Zamir et al (2009) reported a prevalence of PT varying from 0 to 33%, with litters of 1 to 6 lambs, and Moallem et al (2012) reported that a significant increase of BHBA in litters with more than 3 lambs was associated with a greater risk of developing PT. Interestingly, the association of litter size in the present study with PT was significant even after accounting for prepartum hyperketonemia.…”

“…Prepartum hyperketonemia can be clinical (pregnancy toxemia; PT) or subclinical (Herdt, 2000;Radostits et al, 2007;Brozos et al, 2011), although specific data in goats are not well described. Pregnancy toxemia, which is commonly seen during the last month of pregnancy in goats or sheep, generally has a low morbidity rate (2-5%) but a high mortality rate (80%; Brounts et al, 2004;Zamir et al, 2009;Brozos et al, 2011). Risk factors for PT include carriage of multiple fetuses, greater age, and extreme (fat or thin) BCS (Rook, 2000;Brozos et al, 2011).…”