Study on caprine and ovine dermatophilosis in Wollo, Northeast Ethiopia.

Abstract

A study on dermatophilosis in sheep (n = 1432) and goats (n = 1128) was conducted in Northeast Ethiopia. Out of 2560 examined animals, 55 (2.14%) had clinical dermatophilosis. The respective prevalence in sheep and goats were 1.5% and 2.9%. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in prevalence between sheep and goats and different sexes in both species. In goats, the prevalence in young (8.7%) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than in adults (2.3%). Clinical disease was associated with orf (45% in sheep and 12% in goats), pox (22% in sheep and 18% in goats) and ticks in goats (36%, 12/33). Other risk factors associated with transmission and spread of the disease were discussed. Vaccination against concurrent infections, improved management schemes to alleviate the impact of risk factors and early antibiotic treatment against clinical disease are recommended.