Eradication of ovine progressive pneumonia from sheep flocks
Cutlip, R.C.; Lehmkuhl, H.D.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 188(9): 1026-1027
1986
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-1488 PMID: 3011716 Document Number: 271056
The two management methods evaluated were effective in eradicating ovine progressive pneumonia (OPP) virus from sheep flocks. One method consisted of testing all sheep in the flock for antibodies and culling all that were positive. The test was done annually in 2 flocks of sheep; one flock was closed (no sheep added) and one was open (sheep of unknown status added). The virus was eradicated from the closed flock after 6 years and its prevalence was gradually reduced in the open flock from 5.8% to 0.6% after 7 years. The second method consisted of isolating newborn lambs from their dams before sucking, and rearing on milk replacer. The sheep were tested annually for antibodies. Two flocks of approximately 25 sheep each were started with this method. One of the 2 flocks became infected with virus after 3 years. The other flock remained negative for virus until testing was terminated 10 years later. Thus, either method could be used to produce an OPP virus-free sheep flock. Long-term testing would be required to maintain the virus-free status of a flock.