Neurological Diseases of Small Ruminants in Greece: A Retrospective Study in 114 Flocks

Although neurological diseases comprise an important part of small ruminant internal medicine, the number of retrospective studies on their epidemiology conducted to date is limited. This study reports an extensive review of epidemiological data on the occurrence of neurological diseases in Greek sheep and goat herds. The survey was based on data retrieved from the records of the Farm Animal Clinic, School of Veterinary Medicine, A.U.TH from January 2006 to May 2011. Historical information, clinical and neurological examination, clinicopathological and (if available) pathological evaluation were the minimum data recorded in each case.

Diseases of the nervous system represented 37.9% and 19.2% of the total evaluated sheep and goat caseload, respectively. The most frequent neurological disorders diagnosed in sheep were chronic coenurosis and Scrapie, which accounted for 72% of cases, followed by less common conditions like ovine lentiviral encephalomyelitis (OLE), listeriosis and acute coenurosis. In goats the frequency of various types of neurological diseases was more evenly distributed, with listeriosis and polioencephalomalacia being the most commonly encountered problems.