546 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Similar ulcers and crusts due to the necrosis bacillus are occa- 

 sionally noticed on the teats, udders, and external genitals of ewes 

 and on the sheaths of bucks. This latter condition may occur with- 

 out any lesions being apparent on the lips or legs, and the disease 

 is then known as necrotic venereal disease of sheep, or big pizzle, 

 sometimes erroneously termed syphilis or clap. As the lambs are 

 born to such diseased ewes they also become infected, the lesions ap- 

 pearing about the head and on the legs as irregular ulcers, which 

 later form wart-like scabs projecting above the surface. If the dis- 

 ease is neglected these ulcers may spread over a large area and ex- 

 tend deep into the tissues. The general health of the animal is but 

 little disturbed if the course of the disease is favorable, fever being 

 absent or remaining low (104.-5 degrees Fahrenheit). 



Treatment of this disease is very satisfactory if begun in time 

 and applied energetically. It should not be deferred, as better re- 

 sults will be obtained by attacking the outbreak as soon as dis- 

 covered than can be expected if the disease is permitted to spread 

 among the band or penetrate deeper into the tissues of the affected 

 parts. One of the first steps to be taken in the treatment is to sep- 

 arate all the sheep that are in any degree diseased from those that 

 are healthy. 



If only a few animals are affected the best results are obtained 

 quickly to any of the common antiseptic solutions. Should the 

 diseased areas and washing them once daily with a solution of one 

 of the eresol or coal-tar dips permitted in the official dipping of 

 sheep for scabies, the dip being used at a strength one-fourth 

 greater than that prescribed on the label for scabies. The disease 

 responds quickly to any of the common antiseptic solutions. Should 

 the disease attack a large number of animals the ulcers on the 

 legs may be best treated under range conditions by causing the af- 

 fected sheep to pass twice daily through a shallow trough contain- 

 ing a 5 per cent solution of carbolic acid or a solution of any of 

 the above mentioned sheep dips. The ulcers of the mouths may be 

 treated by applying this same solution to the affected parts by 

 means of swabs. Under favorable weather conditions the affected 

 animals may be dipped in one of these dips on two or three oc- 

 casions with very satisfactory results, provided all the diseased 

 parts are reached by the solution. In case the lesions on the animals 

 have become far advanced it will be necessary to hand-treat them 

 by applying a stronger solution of the dip, say one part to three 

 parts water, once daily. Four or five applications of this treatment 



