An Outbreak of Ovine Listeriosis in Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia: Epidemiological, Clinical and Treatment Outcomes

Abstract

This study was carried out to describe the epidemiological, clinical and treatment outcomes of an outbreak of listeriosis in a sheep flock at Qassim Region, central of Saudi Arabia during January 2020. The flock consisted of 700 sheep of different age and sex. The overall morbidity rate was 57.14%, while the mortality rate was 50% and the case fatality rate was 87.5%. The morbidity rate was statistically lower (P=0.0001) in sheep having age less than 6 months (16.66%) than those over 6 months (74.48%). On the contrary, the case fatality rate was not statistically different (P=0.9) in young sheep (97.14%) compared to adult animals (86.57%). The clinical signs observed were acute deaths, nervous manifestation in the form of staggers, ataxia, head tilt and circling. Initial diagnosis was made on the basis of the typical clinical signs, while confirmatory diagnosis was made on the basis of bacteriological examination. Treatment using penicillin as antibiotic in addition to flunixin meglumine as anti-inflammatory gave good results in case of early intervention whereas late-stage treatment gave bad prognosis. So, early intervention is the key to treatment success.