Using ultrasound to study chronic non-progressive pneumonia in lambs in New Zealand
Chronic non-progressive (“enzootic”) pneumonia is a disease with important consequences to lamb growth in New Zealand. Inability to diagnose pneumonia ante mortem is a barrier to finding cost-effective ways to control this disease in lambs in New Zealand. Overseas, researchers have used ultrasound to diagnose pneumonia in adult ewes and dairy calves. The method is cheap and non-invasive. The aim of this study was to assess whether this technique could be used to diagnose pneumonia in lambs in New Zealand. Lamb lungs were scanned by ultrasound, and their lungs were then scored at slaughter. In this study, although normal lungs were easy to identify on ultrasound, we were not able to accurately diagnose cases of lung consolidation or pleurisy. A modification of the technique used would be necessary to use the method in ante-mortem studies of pneumonia.
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Proudly supported by BCF Ultrasound New Zealand
