Don’t Be Caught Out By Clostridial Disease In Sheep

Clostridial diseases are caused by anaerobic bacilli of the family Clostridia, they are widely distributed in the environment, and are the classic cause of sudden death in sheep.

Healthy animals have low levels of clostridia in their gut and it is only when an animal’s natural immunity is compromised that clostridial diseases become a problem. These disease outbreaks are unpredictable, but trigger factors include a sudden change in diet particularly with associated acidosis, a change such as turnout to lush grazing, or housing, and any stresses, e.g. bullying, or the presence of other disease.