Braxy

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. Scott, PR (2015). "Digestive system: Braxy". Sheep medicine (2nd ed.). CRC Press. p. 137. ISBN 9781498700153.
  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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