Flock health survey of Irish Texel society breeders and larynx examination in Texel sheep

Aideen Kennedy; Séamus Fagan; Colm Brady; John Fagan; Eamon Wall; Seamus Hoey; Emma Tobin; Mícheál Casey; Maresa Sheehan

doi:10.1186/s13620-020-00170-2

Flock health survey of Irish Texel society breeders and larynx examination in Texel sheep

Ir Vet J. 2020 Aug 7:73:16. doi: 10.1186/s13620-020-00170-2. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Aideen Kennedy¹, Séamus Fagan², Colm Brady¹, John Fagan¹, Eamon Wall³, Seamus Hoey⁴, Emma Tobin⁴, Mícheál Casey⁵, Maresa Sheehan¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Agriculture, Kilkenny Regional Veterinary Laboratory, Food and the Marine, Kilkenny, Ireland.
² Department of Agriculture, Athlone Regional Veterinary Laboratory, Food and the Marine, Athlone, Westmeath Ireland.
³ Sheep Ireland, Bandon, Co, Cork Ireland.
⁴ Diagnostic Imaging and Anaesthesia, School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
⁵ Department Agriculture, Regional Veterinary Laboratories Division, Backweston Campus, Food and the Marine, Celbridge, Kildare Ireland.

Abstract

Background: Laryngeal chondritis is a disease of undetermined aetiology, characterised by oedema, ulceration, abscessation and necrosis of the laryngeal mucosa and cartilage. The initial aim of the study was to document flock health issues identified by Irish pedigree Texel breeders using a questionnaire survey. Additionally, given the reports of breed predisposition for laryngeal chondritis in Texels, a further aim was to identify if laryngeal problems were perceived as an issue. Work was then conducted to identify if pre-clinical laryngeal mucosal pathology was identifiable in Texel sheep showing no overt clinical signs of respiratory disease and if associations existed between laryngeal measurements and laryngeal pathology.Thirty one larynges were collected from a Texel flock that previously had laryngeal chondritis diagnosed in fallen stock. Gross visual inspection was performed to identify and grade (0-5) laryngeal pathology. A series of measurements were then performed on larynges that had been formalin fixed. Associations between independent variables (larynx measurements) and the dependent variable (laryngeal pathology score) were examined.

Results: Respiratory disease was the most frequently identified health issue. Farmer-diagnosed 'throat problems' were reported by over 80% of respondents.Laryngeal pathology was noted in Texels showing no overt clinical signs of respiratory disease. Associations between laryngeal measurements and laryngeal pathology were identified relating to the angle between the cranial point of the cricoid cartilage and the vocal process of the arytenoid cartilage.

Conclusions: Mild laryngeal pathology was noted in animals with no overt clinical signs of respiratory disease. Future research should examine whether significant associations between laryngeal measurements and laryngeal pathology identified in the current study can be measured ante mortem, and whether such ante mortem measurements will allow early identification of sheep at risk of developing laryngeal chondritis.

Keywords: Flock health; Laryngeal chondritis; Larynx; Ovine; Pathology; Texel.