Clinical Management of Sheep Pox in a Balami Ewe Using Radix Isatidis Polysaccharide Extract (Radixnor®): A Case Report

Abstract

Sheep pox is an economically important, highly contagious, notifiable viral disease of small ruminants caused by sheep pox virus (SPPV), a member of the genus Capripoxvirus, family Poxviridae. The aim of this report is to document the clinical presentation, haematological findings, diagnosis and supportive management of a naturally occurring case of sheep pox in a 3-year-old, 49.4 kg Balami ewe presented to the Large Animal Clinic of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Jos, with a chief complaint of generalised nodular skin lesions of a few days' duration. The ewe was recently introduced into an intensively managed, unvaccinated flock. Physical examination revealed pyrexia (41.0°C), generalised cutaneous nodules, oral lesions, congested ocular mucous membranes and enlarged submandibular and prescapular lymph nodes. A tentative diagnosis of sheep pox was made on history and clinical grounds, with contagious ecthyma (orf) considered as the principal differential; the diagnosis was subsequently confirmed by PCR of a skin nodule biopsy. Pre-therapeutic haematology revealed a marked leukopenia (total white blood cell count 0.50 × 10⁹/L) with neutropenia and lymphopenia, while parasitological examination was negative for haemoparasites and gastrointestinal parasites. The ewe was managed with intramuscular Radix isatidis polysaccharide extract (Radixnor®, 50 mg/kg every 24 h for 5 days; empirical dose) as an antiviral/immunomodulatory agent, alongside diclofenac (1 mg/kg every 24 h for 3 days) for its antipyretic-analgesic action and vitamin B-complex (10 mg/kg every 24 h for 3 days) as a haematinic/metabolic supportive agent. Following treatment, clinical signs resolved, the leukogram recovered (total white blood cell count 10.25 × 10⁹/L with restoration of neutrophil and lymphocyte populations), and the ewe was successfully reintegrated into the flock in good body condition. This case describes the use of Radix isatidis polysaccharide as a plant-derived immunomodulatory adjunct in the management of sheep pox in a resource-limited veterinary setting. Because the case was uncontrolled and spontaneous recovery is possible, efficacy cannot be inferred, and controlled studies are warranted.