A cross-sectional survey of farmer reported prevalence and farm management practices associated with neonatal infectious arthritis (“joint ill”) in lambs, on UK sheep farms
A cross-sectional survey of farmer reported prevalence and farm management practices associated with neonatal infectious arthritis (“joint ill”) in lambs, on UK sheep farms
Open access
In our edition of: Feb 2025
In our categories of: farm animals
our summary:
Jackson, L.P., Higgins, H.M. and Duncan, J.S. (2024) A cross-sectional survey of farmer reported prevalence and farm management practices associated with neonatal infectious arthritis (“joint ill”) in lambs, on UK sheep farms. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 11.
The aim of this cross-sectional online survey questionnaire was to provide an up-to-date estimate of neonatal infectious arthritis (NIA) prevalence on UK sheep farms, to describe management controls for NIA on UK farms and to explore associated risk factors.
The questionnaire collected data on farm demographics, sheep flock attributes, NIA cases, antibiotic use, perception of farmers of risk factors for NIA and farm management and animal level risk factors for NIA. Throughout the survey NIA was referred to by its common name ‘joint ill’ which was defined as a ‘case of swollen joints in lambs of less than one month old’. The survey ran from June to October 2020.
The survey was distributed via social media, sheep industry organisational newsletters, and email lists of relevant organisations.
A total of 328 responses were received, six were removed as they were not from UK sheep farmers leaving a total of 322 responses for analysis. Farmer reported prevalence of NIA during the 2020 lambing season was 64%, with a median within flock incidence of 1.4%. Of the NIA affected farms 63% were from flocks lambing indoors only, 36% of farmers reported that later in the lambing period was the most common time for NIA development, and that NIA was seen most frequently in lambs aged 8-14 days (38%).
Only 5% of farmers had the bacterial cause of NIA diagnosed by a vet, the most common class of antibiotics used for treatment was beta-lactams, including penicillins, which were used in 70% of cases. Of 202 farmers only 12% reported that 100% of NIA lambs were cured following treatment. From a total of 321 responses 67% of farmers said they used specific preventative measures for NIA, of these 16% said they used antibiotics, other measures used included hygiene practice, in particular lamb navel hygiene, and husbandry hygiene.
Across all flocks the number of ewes lambed was identified as a risk factor for NIA. In outdoor lambing flocks NIA was associated with number of ewes lambed, not providing outdoor shelter, and not cleaning ear tags. In indoor lambing flocks, occurrence of NIA was associated with the number of lambs born alive, upland flocks, and farms that did not practice regular hand hygiene. The use of antibiotics as a preventative measure was associated with reduced odds of NIA.
A limitation of the study is possible reporting bias as farmers with experience of NIA may have been more likely to respond to the survey.
This study provides some evidence of risk factors for neonatal infectious arthritis which will assist veterinary surgeon: farmer communications. The study suggests that increased veterinary involvement in the diagnosis, treatment protocols, and prevention of NIA would be beneficial.
The following may also be of interest:
AMR Hub. [RCVS Knowledge] [online]. Available from: https://knowledge.rcvs.org.uk/amr/ [Accessed 20 February 2025]
Farm Vet Champions. [RCVS Knowledge] [online]. Available from: https://learn.rcvsknowledge.org/course/index.php?categoryid=6 [Accessed 20 February 2025]
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