The artificial infection of sheep with a brucella-like organism. Part I: The artificial infection of ewes

Authors: McFarlane D, Hartley WJ, Jebson JL
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 2, Issue 3, pp 80-89, Sep 1954
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant, Sheep
Subject Terms: Bacterial, Disease/defect, Infectious disease, Notifiable organisms/exotic disease, Reproduction, Reproduction - female, Zoonosis, Public health
Article class: Scientific Article

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Abstract:

A previous paper by McFarlane et al. (1952a ) has recorded the presence in New Zealand of a type of abortion in sheep due to infection by a weakly acid-fast Gram-negative bacillus, and characterized pathologically by widespread lesions in the foetal membranes. It was later shown (McFarlane et al., 1952b ) that a morphologically similar organism is associated with lesions in the genitalia of the ram. Successful experimental transmission has been reported from ram to ram and from ram to ewe using suspensions of organisms obtained from naturally occurring cases of the epididymitis complex in rams (NZ Dept. Agric., 1951–52, and McFarlane et al., 1952b ). The detailed bacteriology of this organism has been studied by Buddle and Boyes (1953), who showed that the organism obtained from infected ram genitalia is identical with that obtained from infected foetal membranes.

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