Black quarter :

• Also known as black leg
• Acute infectious, toxemic disease of cattle and sheep
• 6 months-2 years of animal are affected any time of season.

a) Etiology:

• Clostridium chauvoei

b) Transmission:

• Ingestion of spores contaminated food and water.
• Wound infection.

c) Pathogenesis:

• Bacteria spore enter through wound à Germinate in intestine and enter into blood circulation à reach to blood vascular system à bacteremia -à under favorable condition, proliferate and release endotoxin à produce systemic toxemia and lead to death

d) Symptoms:

• High fever ( 106⁰F)
• Swelling in thigh and shoulder muscles
• Initially, swelling is hot and painful to touch and soon becomes cold and painless.
• Produce crepitating sound in pressure
• Mortality 100%, morbidity 20%
• Animal die within 12-48 hrs
• Discharge of blood from orifices, rapid clotting of blood
• Muscles is blackened.
• Skin affected become stiff, black or dark red in color.

e) Diagnosis:

• On the basis of history:- vaccination, wound infection, etc.
• Lameness, hot swelling in thigh muscles producing crepitating sound on pressure.

f) Differential diagnosis:

• Anthrax, Black disease, Lead and other chemical poisoning, venomous snake bite

g) Treatment:

• Antibiotics like penicillin, aureomycin and oxytetracycline can be used
• Isolation of animal and keep away from infected area
• Burn or bury dead body
• Vaccination
• Don’t allow to remove skin from infected animal