Infectious abortion in sheep including enzootic abortion (EAE), toxoplasmosis, and campylobacteriosis causes significant welfare losses and poses zoonotic risks to pregnant women.
Infectious abortion causes significant welfare impacts on both the ewes experiencing pregnancy loss and the aborted or stillborn lambs. The metabolic cost of late abortion, the distress associated with delivery of dead or compromised offspring, and the health risks of retained afterbirths create a welfare burden that prevention through vaccination substantially reduces. Good biosecurity during lambing also limits spread between ewes in the critical period.