Pneumonia in Slaughtered Sheep in Libya: Gross and Histopathological Findings

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of pneumonia in sheep in municipality of El-Beida, Libya. To achieve the goal, samples were collected from October 2020 to April 2021. The lungs of 525 sheep carcasses were subjected to gross examination and those suspected to be infected with pneumonia were studied at histopathological level. Pneumonia was detected in 141(26.9%) carcasses. Based on histopathological lesions 40.4% with interstitial pneumonia 37.6% with fibrinous bronchopneumonia, 14.2% were affected with suppurative bronchopneumonia, 3.5% with haemorrhagic pneumonia, 2.1% were affected with pleuritis and 1.4 % with embolic pneumonia. In addition 0.7% of the lungs showed aspiration pneumonia. The most common form of pneumonia was interstitial pneumonia and the gross and histological lesions of the different forms of pneumonia were consistent with the findings of other studies. In conclusion, the results of this study indicates that the prevalence of pneumonia in slaughtered sheep is relatively high and seems to be the most important condition in sheep in Libya. Further studies are recommended to identify the etiological agents of pneumonia in sheep.