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Tales From Dead Lambs : Results Of A Survey Of Lambing Losses, Stanley M. Dennis

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

During the past year the Animal Health Laboratory has been conducting a preliminary survey into the infectious causes of abortion in sheep and perinatal lamb mortalities. This work was prompted by:

* The diagnosis of vibrionic abortion for the first time in Western Australia in 1961, and

* The estimate that 30 per cent, of all ewes mated in Australia each year may fail to produce a viable lamb that survives to marking time.

This enormous lamb wastage is due to a variety of causes and the role of infectious agents has yet to be evaluated.