LAMB MORTALITY.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19670, 13 July 1929, Page 19

LAMB MORTALITY.

CAUSATION STILL OBSCURE CENTRAL OTAGO LOSSES. Eeeent departmental reports indicate that throughout the past season further efforts have been made by the Department of Agriculture investigators to solve the problem of lamb mortality, which has been the cause of such widespread and continued loss in Central Otago during the past few years, states the "Otago Daily Times." Mi D. A. Gill, assistant officer in charge of the Wallaceville veterinary laboratory, is still pursuing his researches both on the ground and in the laboratory. There is as yet nothing definite to report beyond the fact that progress has been made, particularly in the direction of suggesting a further programme of work for the coming season. The investigation was commenced in 1926 in Central Otago concerning the mortality among lambs about two to six weeks old, and was continued in the Manitoto and adj-cent district* last spring. On this occasion the work was confined to the technical aspect of the question, and for this reason no detailed report will be published. This general note on the work of the 1928 season, however, will convince the farming community that the investigation is not being allowed to lapse in any way. The main line of investigation was concerned with the possible presence in the bowel of the affected lambs of certain types of organisms which might induce the condition in question through producing an unusually large amount of toxins. No definite evidence of this was obtained, nor eould any kk el / germs be discovered in the blood, cerebo-spinal fluid, or various organs. The work on the flora of the intestine is exceedingly difficult, and suitable eases are hard to find, but further intensive work on these lines has been planned for the future. Specimens were also obtained for use in various biochemical tests. The most probable trai» of events, culminating in the death of the lambs, seems to be that the condition is due to toxins which are formed in, and absorbed from, the gut; that these toxima may be produced in the gut by bacteria which are common and constant inhabitants of th* gut, and which normally lead a quite harmless existence there, that through some *ff tor or factors connected with the diet these bacteria have been enabled to increase in numbers and to produce larger quantities, or possibly more powerful *yP eB ' of toxins. This by no means precludes the possibility that such organisms may have simultaneously increased in ninlence so that they now attack type ß or lambs that were previously immune. It will be seen from this that while Mr Gill is not in full agreement witn what is popularly understood as tn. "over-nutrition theory," he does consider that at rock bottom some die f. ai 7 fault is responsible for the mortality. In addition to the above-mentioned work a large series of P reventive -,?n. periments with the use of . T ?" t mineral-lick mixtures was carried > but no definitely beneficial effects we. noted so far as the mortality was con eerned. It may be also recorded aw in several further eases where « tried the preventive method of ? ing for 24 hours every five to days gave good results, as it ma •xpeetad to d* ia all ta*m ncoviae* *»