Both pneumonia and pleurisy can prove costly for producers, from causing slow growth rates, carcass trimming or death.

Pleurisy typically occurs in conjunction with pneumonia, which makes sheep reasonably sick. Many sheep recover from pneumonia, so the residual pleurisy is seen at processing.

Agriculture Victoria Veterinary officer Hayden Morrow said the severity of signs can vary greatly as some sheep will not show any respiratory signs except a reduction in weight gain, while others develop nasal discharge, coughing, laboured breathing, exhaustion, and a lack of appetite before progressing to death.

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"Clinical cases of pneumonia lead to increases in mortality, increased treatment costs and a reduction in animal welfare. However, reductions in weight gain from mild cases are also likely to be significant," Dr Morrow said.

Outbreaks of pneumonia and pleurisy can be caused by either environmental, animal or pathogen factors.

These factors include; dusty conditions, inadequate nutrition, primary pathogens, parasitic infections from lungworms and poor drenching techniques.

Agriculture Victoria has advised producers to focus on prevention and management of risk factors, including avoiding handling of sheep in hot dry conditions, ensuring access to nutrition and water is optimised, and hosing down dusty yards and laneways before moving stock.

For more information, read the Pneumonia Pleurisy factsheet on the Animal Health Australia website or contact your private veterinarian for advice.

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