** TREATMENT of ORF (V2) **

Orf is also known as contagious ecthyma,

scabby mouth, contagious pustular
dermatitis, or sore mouth .

⚠ Orf is a zoonotic disease that is very

common in goats and sheep. A zoonotic
disease is one that can be transmitted
from animals to humans therefore you
must wear protective latex gloves when
handling or treating a goat with Orf.

Orf is a viral disease which causes

scabby lesions usually around the area of
the mouth, lips and nose.

About two to three days after exposure to

the virus, vesicles, pustules, and finally
scabs appear. Soremouth lesions occur
primarily on the lips and nostrils of
affected animals, but may also develop on
other parts of the body: e.g. ears, eyes,
feet, limbs, udder, and genital areas.

⚠ There is no treatment for the ORF

infection itself as it is caused by a virus
and antibiotics are not effective on
viruses. Normally this disease is self
limiting and the animal would typically
recover by itself within 14 days if there are
no secondary infections.
However, you can help the animal to fight
secondary infections that can arise from
the disease including the wounds , lesions
and scabs . You can treat the secondary
infections with the following:

1 — Antibiotics.

Inject penicillin type antibiotics such as

PenStrep 400 LA or Procaben LA to fight
the secondary infections

2 — Vitamins.

Inject Multivitamin to speed up wound

healing and improve appetite .

3. Treating Scabs/Wounds around the

mouth . Wear gloves first

3.1 Mutomba or Soda (Sodium

Bicarbonate) + softening gel. Make a
solution by mixing 50g Soda with 1L of
water and use the solution to clean the
wounds around the mouth

3.2 Apply Veterinary Liquid paraffin or

Vaseline mixed with Venton wound oil or
tick grease to soften the scabs.

3. Dehydration . The animal may need oral

rehydration fluid due to the wounds
interfering with eating and drinking . Oral
electrolyte rehydration fluid such
Electromix can be used .

4. Pain and Inflammation - if the animal is

in severe pain or if it has fever, the vet
doctor can prescribe a non steroidal
anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID ) such as
Ketasol

7.⚠ Orf is very contagious, it is spread

through direct animal-to-animal contact
entering through damaged skin. Therefore
you need to isolate infected animals from
the rest of the flock if possible

8.⚠ The disease is zoonotic, meaning

that it can be transmitted to humans
therefore wear protective latex gloves
when handling or treating a goat with Orf .

Note: Other conditions or diseases that

may be confused with orf are blue tongue
disease and foot and mouth disease, both
of which are also viral diseases.

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The information provided above is not

intended to replace professional advice
from your veterinary doctor.

The treatment that is actually given to

your animal depends on correctly
identifying the disease that is actually
affecting it.

Always consult your veterinary doctor or

veterinary livestock officers especially if
you are in doubt about any treatment