Louping Ill – Best practice

Louping ill is a tick-borne viral disease that primarily affects sheep and red grouse. Understanding how it spreads is key to protecting your flock:

• Ticks become infected when they feed on a host animal with high levels of LIV in their blood. These high levels only occur in sheep and grouse for a maximum of five days following infection
• Adult sheep which are vaccinated or previously exposed to infected ticks tend to be immune. Lambs of such ewes are protected for the first 2-3 months of life by colostral antibodies
• As long as the lamb receives enough colostrum after birth, maternal colostral antibodies from hefted ewes can provide good protection for lambs against LIV but not Tick Borne Fever (TBF)
• LIV and the agent of TBF can be transmitted by the same tick or by different ticks present in the same habitat, giving rise to co-infections
• Exposure to LIV and TBF concurrently in an unprotected sheep will usually result in neurological symptoms and death
• As well as these co-infections, stress associated with handling, dosing and vaccination can lead to symptoms of louping ill being displayed