Embrapa warns of outbreak of enterotoxemia in goats and sheep reared in the Brazilian Caatinga

Embrapa Semiárido recorded several cases of enterotoxemia in goats and sheep reared in areas of Caatinga in the São Francisco Valley. The agency alerted the breeders in the region. The disease is caused by a toxin called epsilon, produced by the bacterium Clostridium perfringens Type D in the animals' gastrointestinal tract. It results in an acute infection and high mortality rate. Sudden changes in food, excess carbohydrate and stress can cause the infection. The increase in cases of the disease coincides with the beginning of the rains in the region, which increases the supply of plants in the regrowth phase, causing a sudden change in food and providing the bacteria with an ideal environment for their proliferation.