Sore Mouth

Contagious ecthyma (CE), also known as sore mouth, is an infectious disease caused by a poxvirus.  It is easily transmitted between sheep and goats, and can run rampant through a herd once one animal is infected.  The SIPAC herd of meat goats broke with sore mouth in their first month at the farm.

CE, also known as sore mouth or orf, causes crusty lesions to form around the lips and mouth of the infected animal.  Lesions can also appear on the nostrils, eyelids, face, vulva, teats, udders and feet.  Once an animal has been infected, it takes 2 -14 days for the first signs of disease to appear, and there is no real treatment that changes the course of the disease, however, after an animal has recovered from sore mouth, they are considered to be immune for at least a year.  Antibiotic creams and softening agents may be useful in helping to get control the lesion, but the disease has no real cure, and the only way to get rid of it is to allow it to run its course. 

 The virus that causes sore mouth is easily spread between animals.  It can be passed from an infected kid to a doe's teats, or it can survive for months in bedding and housing.  Once the crusty portion of the lesion has fallen off, the lesion itself is notlonger contagious, but the crust itself can remain infectious for over a month.  The lesions produced by sore mouth are very painful to the animal, and may cause reduced feed intake, and weight loss, both of which are negative impacts on a production enterprise.  In a young kid, these sores can cause the kid to stop nursing, and consequently may cause severe weight loss, stunted growth, or even death.  If the doe's teats become infected, she may become too painful to nurse the kid and will abandon it.

Another problem associated with sore mouth is that it is a zoonotic disease, meaning that it can be transmitted to humans who come in contact with infected animals.  CE in humans can cause painful sores that may take weeks to diminish.  Therefore, humans handling infected animals must take extra precaution to cover exposed areas of skin and to wash thoroughly following contact with the animals.  Coveralls and plastic or rubber gloves should be worn at all time to prevent transmission of the disease.

    There is a vaccine available for sore mouth that should be used in the majority of herds.  It is a live vaccine, and is administered onto a scratched area of hairless skin.  The vaccine may cause a lesion to appear at the site of administration, and therefore all vaccines should be administered a few months before shows to allow the lesions to heal and fall off.  Once again, humans can contract the virus via contact with the vaccine so they should exercise caution in protecting themselves when vaccinating their herd.

Learn more about sore mouth from these links:

"Contagious Ecthyma" from Iowa State

"Controlling sore mouth in meat goats" from North Carolina State University

The project is a cooperative effort between Purdue University and the University of Kentucky.