PULPY KIDNEY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 201, 15 July 1936, Page 4

PULPY KIDNEY.

VACCINATION OF EWES, MARKED SUCCESS CLAIMED. , It -would ppear that at last, after years of baffling experimentation, a preventive has been found for pulpy kidney (says an exchange). The trouble has been severest in the Central Otago district, but in certain seasons it is a universal one, and so far little headway has been made in its prevention. However, as a result of experiments carried out at the AVallaceville laboratory last season large quantities of formalised enterotoxaemia vaccine are now being manufactured there for use in Central Otago during the coming season. The Government veterinarian for Hawke’s Bay (Mr E. E. Elphick) has expressed himself ns confident that the vaccine would very largely eliminate the trouble in the flocks treated. The idea behind the original experiments with this vaccine, which is known as clostridium welchii, type D, he told a Napier Telegraph writer, was the transference of a passive immunity from disease to the lamb through the colstrum of the mother, with the hope that such immunity would be sufficiently lasting to bo effective during the most effective and susceptible period of the lamb’s life, namely, between the third and fourth weeks of life. In carrying out the experiment, the ewes were packed firmly in a race, but not crushed in any way, the wool parted just behind the shoulder blade, and the site of the injection swabbed with methydated spirits. The skin was then raised between the fingers, the syringe inserted and the requisite dose given subcutaneously. Following this, the ewe was marked on the head with paint. • A further application of the vaccine was carried out three weeks later, approximately a fortnight before lambing commenced, the work subsequent to this consisting of keeping a watch on the vaccinated ewes and control ewes which were maintained for purposes of comparison and of checking the results of the lamb mortality in each class.

As a result of these observations, it was found that on one farm where the experiment was carried out one lamb died from pulpy kidney out of the lambs from 527 vaccinated ewes. With this flock was run a mob of 530 unvaccinated ewes, the lamb mortality due to pulpy kidney of this lot reaching the total of 24. On another property the effectiveness of the vaccine was illustrated by the fact that there were 35 deaths of lambs from 310 untreated ewes, as against one doubtful case of death from this cause where the lambs from 285 vaccinated ewes were concerned. In view of the . fact that heavy losses are yearly suffered in Central Otago from the pulpy kidney disease in lambs, the results obtained from the general vaccination of flocks this season will be awaited with interest by flock owners.