Badgers and Orf

[Johnny Redgate]

There are plenty of you on this forum who know much more about badgers than me, so I'm hoping you can give me a definitive answer to the question of whether badgers can get and/or spread orf (otherwise known as contagious pustular dermatitis I think) which is a problem in sheep.

We have had an outbreak of a nasty strain coinciding with an apparent great increase in badger activity in the fields (extensive areas of disturbed grass) from the large badger sett in our boundary hedgerow. We have not seen orf so nasty before and not at this time (starting 2 months ago). This has forced us to vaccinate the ewes, something which we really didn't want to have to do. Our boundaries are double fenced all round so there is no possibility of contact with neighbouring sheep.

If badgers can get and/or spread orf then we will need to plan to vaccinate every year and try and live with it. I'd be grateful for any thoughts.

[Dogghound]

The problem is badgers get a lot of bad press because of bovine TB in reality you want a solution to you problem. It is not always the right route to assume its due to badgers as you are probably overlooking far more obvious answers.

Have your sheep had this before and if so how long ago? are you aware that reinfection is common and it can lay dormant within a sheep over time?

Are you aware that it can be spread on items like gloves, shoes, farm equipment etc? have you brought any in lately?

There is potential that badgers could carry it although I have never heard of badgers or any other mustelid carrying it. Do you and you neighbor use feed troughs?

Dogs, cats, humans, sheep, goats, squirrels, deer are all known to carry it.

[Johnny Redgate]

Thanks for your reply DH. I'm not seeking to blame the badgers nor have I assumed they are the problem, just trying and understand why we have such a problem this year at this time. And no one I have spoken to up to now knows whether badgers may spread the disease. It does seem a likely possibility given their habits though.

To answer your questions:
low level but not virulent infection seen in a few lambs each year and occasionally rams
yes, I am aware of spread via equipment, clothes etc and we take steps to try and limit this through isolation and cleaning (vircon)
neighbours don't use feed troughs, we don't at this time of year

It seems to me that a different strain has arrived onto the farm this Autumn. We have squirrels, badgers and foxes but it is a long time since we have seen a deer. There has been no sheep to sheep contact with neighbouring sheep for 7 years. We bought in 2 sheep this year, both show no sign of orf.

We have tried up to now to contain the minor outbreaks we have had but I guess we'll be vaccinating from now on.

[The Woodman]

By chance I've just been speaking to a vet mate who lives in bandit country not too far from Offas Dyke!

I asked him the question and my brief notes include..

Orf is a long lasting organism that can remain on feeding troughs, fence posts, handling equipment, transport, etc.

Any animal species coming into contact with infected surfaces can contract Orf which can remain viable for a year or more.

Badgers can carry it especially if they are feeding from infected troughs but are not a reservoir for it.

There is no natural immunity and only one strain and a virulent outbreak could mean that it hasn't been present for a while.

Outbreaks often occur when infected tups are bought in carrying Orf in latent form without displaying clinical symptoms.

I hope that's of some use.

[Johnny Redgate]

Originally Posted by The Woodman

By chance I've just been speaking to a vet mate who lives in bandit country not too far from Offas Dyke!

I asked him the question and my brief notes include..

Orf is a long lasting organism that can remain on feeding troughs, fence posts, handling equipment, transport, etc.

Any animal species coming into contact with infected surfaces can contract Orf which can remain viable for a year or more.

Badgers can carry it especially if they are feeding from infected troughs but are not a reservoir for it.

There is no natural immunity and only one strain and a virulent outbreak could mean that it hasn't been present for a while.

Outbreaks often occur when infected tups are bought in carrying Orf in latent form without displaying clinical symptoms.

I hope that's of some use.

Thanks as ever Woodman,
Surprised the vet says there is only one strain. Definitely think the severity of symptoms in individual animals is worse than we'ver ever seen. Maybe this is a difference in severity of secondary bacterial infection this time round. Thanks again.

[The Woodman]

I think I heard him correctly while typing notes with one finger!

[Johnny Redgate]

Well, whether or not badgers had any role in bringing orf onto or distributing it around the farm we are now in the middle of an almost catastrophic outbreak. Despite vaccinating the in-lamb ewes on Dec 1st a significant proportion of the ewes are getting terrible orf on their teats when the lambs get to 3 - 4 weeks old, even though the lambs aren't showing any signs (yet?). Secondary bacterial infection is driving awful mastitis in several of the ewes. I now have 20-25% of my lambs off the ewes and on milk replacer (bottles/buckets) as the teats are too painful for the ewes to allow the lambs to drink, and a lot of very unhappy ewes and lambs. I won't have as many breeding ewes left as I started with. Just when the hard work of lambing should be dying down we have to manage this. When will it end?

Any advice from sheep keepers gratefully received.

[The Woodman]

Johnny - whatever the cause you have my total sympathy for your situation. I wish I could offer you some support in this miserable situation.

[Johnny Redgate]

Thanks Woodman, appreciated. Just off out now to do the last round of bottles!

[The Woodman]

Is the Orfe with your Zwartbles?