42 
BLOOD -POISONING 
(Malignant Oedema) 
Blood-poisoning in sheep- is invariably caused by in- 
fection through dust or dirt from contaminated sheep 
yards or immediate surroundings coming in contact with 
freshly inflicted wounds. j 
The symptoms of blood-poisoning are very pronounced, 
and are not likely to be mistaken for anything else. They 
usually appear within from twenty-fourto forty-eight hours 
after shearing of docking and tailing. The mostcharacter- 
istic feature is a well-marked swelling, which quickly be- 
comes dark-coloured, in fact, almost black, and gangrenous. 
In the earlier stages the animal moves stiffly when forced to 
movement, gradually becomes more and more dull and list- 
less, is off feed, and obviously in a very bad way. Marked 
lameness is noted in the early stages when infection gains 
entrance through wounds in the leg after shearing. In, 
grown sheep recovery sometimes takes place, especially if 
the point of infection is situated in the lower portion of a 
leg. Whatever mortality occurs is allover within four or five ` 
days at the outside in the case of sheep, and usually within 
two days with lambs. y 
Attempts at curative treatment are practically of no value, 
but prevention may be secured by the following precautions: 
(1) The provision of new yardson clean ground. As this 
necessitates also the erection of a shearing shed, it means the 
incurring of considerable expense. Atthe same time there 
are some shearing sheds which could with advantage be 
abolished and economically replaced by more up-to-date 
buildings, or 
(2) The removal of the whole of the surface soil of the 
yards to a depth of at least 6 ins., and preferably 1 ft. Sat- 
urating the newly exposed surface with a solution of Cooper's 
Milk Oil Fluid Sheep Dip at a strength of 1 gallon fluid to 
30 gallons water, and after this has dried giving a heavy 
coating of lime. After applying the lime, the replacing of 
the removed soil by clean earth taken, in flat country, from 
well below the surface (but never from land inclined to be 
swampy), or from a cut into a hillside whenever possible. 
Lambs should be cut and tailed in sheep-yards, as, even 
if the organism of malignant oedema be absent, they are 
more susceptible to the effects of the contamination of 
newly-inflicted wounds by dirt than are older sheep. 
(3) The shearing board and the shears should be fre-, 
quently disinfected with a strong solution of Cooper's: 
Milk Oil Fluid. |. i ое deleto 
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