Prevalence of lung affections in sheep in northern temperate regions of India: A postmortem study

A total of 1385 sheep slaughtered in different abattoirs were screened. The overall prevalence of lung affections was found to be 24.18%. Age was taken as a risk factor for the occurrence of infection. The prevalence was significantly (P ≤ 0.01) higher in sheep less than 2 years of age (25.40%) as compared to the sheep greater than 2 years of age (19.01%). Assessment of different lung affections in association with body condition of the animals revealed that lung affections were more frequent and severe in animals whose general body condition was weak. Patho-morphological characterization of the lung affections included acute bronchopneumonia, fibrinous bronchopneumonia, chronic bronchopneumonia, suppurative pneumonia, interstitial pneumonia, verminous pneumonia, bronchitis and bronchiolitis, haemorrhage, congestion and emphysema/atelectasis. It was concluded that lung affections were highly prevalent in the sheep destined for slaughter in Kashmir valley owing to multiple factors, viz., adverse climatic conditions during winters, poor management and lack of proper feeding regimen leading to substantial economic losses due to reduced lamb growth and decreased carcass value.