Braxy is an infectious disease which causes sudden death in sheep. It is caused by the bacterium Clostridium septicum.

Braxy generally occurs in winter, when sheep eat frosted root crops,[1] or frosted grass.[2] The frozen feed damages the mucosa (lining) of the abomasum, allowing C. septicum to enter, causing abomasitis and a fatal bacteremia.[3]

Young sheep not protected with a vaccine are most commonly affected. If sheep are not found dead, signs include abdominal pain and recumbency.[2] There is no treatment,[1] and sheep usually die within 36 hours of the onset of signs.[4] The carcass of sheep which died of braxy will often decompose more rapidly than expected.[1]

Historically, the mutton of affected sheep was also referred to as braxy.[5]

A vaccine against braxy was developed at the Moredun Research Institute in Scotland.[6]

Braxy has been reported in Europe (particularly in Iceland, Norway and the UK), Australia and the United States.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Scott, PR (2015). "Digestive system: Braxy". Sheep medicine (2nd ed.). CRC Press. p. 137. ISBN 9781498700153.
  2. 1 2 Winter, AC (2012). "Chapter 10: Sudden death: Main clostridial diseases". A handbook for the sheep clinician (7th ed.). Wallingford: CABI. pp. 92–93. ISBN 9781845939939.
  3. ↑ Songer, JG (2010). "Chapter 12: Histotoxic Clostridia". In Gyles, CL; Prescott, JF; Songer, JG; Thoen, CO (eds.). Pathogenesis of bacterial infections in animals (4th ed.). Ames, Iowa: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 203–209. ISBN 978-0-8138-1237-3.
  4. ↑ Prescott, JF; Menzies, PI; Fraser, RS (2016). "Chapter 17: Clostridial abomasitis". In Uzal, FA; Songer, JG; Prescott, JF; Popoff, MR (eds.). Clostridial diseases of animals. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 205–220. ISBN 9781118728307.
  5. ↑ Wood, James, ed. (1907). "Braxy" . The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne.
  6. ↑ "Phone call reveals link to Moredun's past". Moredun Magazine (6): 1. 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
  7. ↑ Songer, JG (1998). "Clostridial diseases of small ruminants". Veterinary Research. 29 (3–4): 219–32. PMID 9689739.


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