Investigations on an ataxic syndrome in young sheep in the Timahdit area (Middle Atlas, Morocco)

 This study aimed to explore the causes of a nervous syndrome that occurred among Timahdit sheep breed during 2016-2017 agricultural season. For this purpose, a preliminary epidemiological survey was undertaken within 15 farms on March 2018. 10 sheep flocks consisting of 2673 heads were then selected from which 154 blood samples were taken at different physiological stages and age categories. The samples included farms having experienced the syndrome during the 2016-2017 and other farms that have experienced the same disease during 2017-2018 campaign. Additionally, blood samples from sheep of a control farm located in the same area, where the disease has never been reported, were also collected. Regarding the epidemiological and clinical features, nutritional muscular dystrophy (white muscle disease) and enzootic ataxia were strongly suspected. Thereby, serum measurements of creatine kinase (CK) activity and of the concentration of ceruloplasmin were carried out. Results revealed that the serum creatine kinase concentrations are similar to the usual values reported in the literature, attesting that there was probably no selenium deficiency. As for the analysis of the activity of ceruloplasmin - and therefore of cupremia -, the values found in farms having experienced ataxia syndrome during 2017-2018 were slightly lower than the usual values, especially among young lambs, and fall within the sub-deficiency interval. In the farms where ataxic syndrome occurred in 2016-2017, the calculated values of cupremia from ceruloplasmin concentrations were within the physiological reference limits reported in the scientific literature. The inter-annual differences of the rangelands intake in terms of dietary copper and the previous treatments carried out in 2016-2017 explain the above-obtained results.

Keywords: Sheep, enzootic ataxia, deficiency, copper, selenium, Timahdit, Morocco.