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Research
3.
Prevalence and etiology of abscess disease of
sheep and goats at Qassim region, Saudi Arabia -
Khaled Bani Al-Harbi
Vet World. 2011; 4(11): 495-499
doi: 10.5455/vetworld.2011.495-499
Abstract
Abscess disease (caseous lymphadenitis and Morel
disease) is a worldwide contagious bacterial
disease of sheep and goats and is adversely
affecting the development of the sheep industry in
Saudi Arabia. Fifteen sheep and 12 goat farms at
Qassim region, central Saudi Arabia, were surveyed
during September and October 2008 for the
determination of the prevalence and the etiology
of abscess disease. One hundred and twenty pus
samples were collected from affected external
lymph nodes of clinically-ill sheep and goats and
from infected internal lymph nodes and organs
condemned during meat inspection in the
slaughterhouses, for the isolation and
identification of pathogenic bacteria causing
sheep abscess disease. The prevalence of abscess
disease varied between 5%– 44.1% in sheep farms,
being highest in the Najdi breed, and between 2.2
% – 6.5 % in goat farms. Males of both sheep and
goats had the highest rate of infection compared
to females (p <0.01). Bacterial isolates were
obtained from 97 out of the 120 collected pus
samples (80.83 %). The remaining 23 samples were
sterile. Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and
Staphylococcus aureus subsp. anaerobius accounted
for about 54% of isolates, with almost equal
frequencies (p =0.5). Other pyogenic bacteria such
as S. aureus, Streptococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
Actinomyces pyogenes were also isolated from
infected abscesses. They represented about 46% of
the isolated etiological agents of sheep
abscesses. This explains why available vaccines (bactrins)
against caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) are poorly
protective against abscess disease in Saudi
Arabia.
Keywords: Abscess disease, sheep
and goats, bacterial isolates, Qassim, Saudi
Arabia.
