Skin Lesions - Diseases


Other Names

Cutaneous Streptothricosis, Lumpy Wool, Mycotic Dermatitis, Rain Scald








Conditions for spread and establishment of infection are when wet animals are in close contact, such as yarding in heavy rain or high humidity, and during dipping for lice and fly control. It can then spread very quickly through a mob.

Clinical Signs and Diagnosis




Differential diagnoses include ringworm and scald neither of which has matted hair and scab formation before alopecia appears.


Animals will recover spontaneously. Treatment with antibiotics (procaine penicillin, oxytetracycline) is recommended only for severely affected animals, and for sheep that must be shorn and where the shears are unable to pass beneath the scabs. It generally takes 6 weeks after antibiotics are administered for scabs to lift sufficiently and may be longer in stressed sheep in wet conditions.

