[Flock status - sheep flock assessment - Ressource and management related welfare indicators]. / Herdenstatus ­ Beurteilung von Schafherden.

The welfare status of sheep flocks may be assessed via animal-, resource-, and management-related indicators. The benefits of multiple-choice questionnaires are however impaired by the diversity of sheep breeds and husbandry. From a veterinary flock health management point of view, the presented review describes the influence of environment, climate, supervision as well as additional factors under consideration of legal regulations. The improvement of welfare is a common concern of all players in the field of farm animal husbandry. Based on this, challenges as well as possibilities for improvement exist for legal and administrative institutions as well as pharmaceutical industry.

[Flock status - sheep flock assessment - Flock examination procedure and animal related indicators]. / Herdenstatus ­ Beurteilung von Schafherden.

A protocol for the examination of sheep in an entire flock approach is suggested allowing for an acquisition of information prior to the fixation of single sheep. Data and animal based information concerning welfare are assessed and subsequent action determined. The diversity of sheep breeds and husbandry features as well as their impact on parasite management and supervision ought to be taken into account in skilled assessment of flock health and animal welfare.

[Claw infections in sheep - treatment options in veterinary practice, with special emphasis on ovine footrot treatment. - An update]. / Klaueninfektionen beim Schaf ­ Therapiemöglichkeiten in der tierärztlichen Praxis unter besonderer Berück sichtigung der Moderhinkebekämpfung.

Infectious causes of lameness in sheep remain of considerable clinical importance. Because of the availability of newly licensed drugs, important changes in therapy options, particularly for ovine footrot, have occurred. This paper provides an overview of common and rarer infectious causes of lameness in sheep, and presents a detailed review of recent advances in research regarding the aetiology, diagnosis, prevention, treatment and control of ovine foot rot. Despite the recent release of several antibiotics licensed for the treatment of footrot in sheep, the use of footbaths following the cascade of regulations remains a crucial part of many integrated treatment and control programmes. The sustainable control of foot rot requires recent advances in science to be put into practice, with tailor-made control programmes for each individual farm. The article presents various treatment options and potential routes of control and eradication.

[Epidemiological enquiries in two Q fever outbreaks in a community of Baden-Württemberg during 2008 and 2009]. / Epidemiologische Untersuchungen zu zwei Q-Fieber-Ausbrüchen in einer Gemeinde Baden-Württembergs in den Jahren 2008 und 2009.

In 2008 and 2009, two consecutive outbreaks of Q fever in humans were recorded in the district of Freudenstadt, northern Black Forrest, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In 2008, a total of 41 persons from a single local community fell ill and were found infected with Coxiella burnetii. Although comprehensive diagnostic and epidemiological outbreak investigations were conducted and control measures taken which included vaccination of ruminants at risk in three parts of the affected community, re-occurrence of the disease in 2009 with further 29 confirmed human Q fever cases could not be prevented. While the origin of infection of the first outbreak was probably a flock of 550 sheep moved in the surrounding of the affected villages, the source of infection for the consecutive outbreak in 2009 could not be identified. It seems possible that meadows contaminated with infectious placenta or birth fluids represented the sources of infection.