Diagnosis and control of small ruminant abortion

Abstract

Abortion, as either an outbreak or enzootic disease issue, is an important production-limiting disease of sheep and goats. This article describes how to approach diagnosis and management of the more common causes of abortion in the US and Canada, i.e. Campylobacter fetus subspecies fetus, Campylobacter jejuni, Chlamydophila abortus, Toxoplasma gondii, and iodine deficiency goiter. It also gives an overview of the less-common causes of abortion in sheep and goats. Zoonotic implications of the various disease agents will also be addressed, as well as how to reduce risk to humans. Coxiella burnetii is covered in a separate lecture.