Infectious abortion causes significant welfare burden in sheep flocks worldwide, with evidence-based prevention programs dramatically reducing pregnancy losses and suffering.
Infectious abortion causes pain and systemic illness in affected ewes, pregnancy loss, and often the death of late-term lambs who may survive briefly in distressed states. Flock-level outbreaks create large-scale welfare events and economic losses. Effective vaccines and biosecurity measures can prevent the majority of cases when properly implemented. Prompt investigation of abortion clusters allows identification of the cause and targeted intervention to limit flock spread and reduce ongoing welfare harm.