Abstract:
Previously published results of dosing trials, involving 82 ewes, revealed that 66% of the offspring of
dams exposed to cultures of Diplodia maydis in the second trimester of pregnancy and 87% of lambs
of ewes exposed in the third trimester, were born dead or died soon afterwards. Spongiform degeneration
of myelin of varying degree was present in the brains of all the stillborn and non-viable lambs in these
trials. Myelin lamellae were separated at the intraperiod line. The spongiform degeneration occurred
throughout the central nervous system in severely affected animals, whereas in mildly affected lambs
the lesions had a predilection for the white matter, particularly of the cerebellum and cerebrum. In 28
lambs the spongiform degeneration progressed to lytic necrosis, and hydrocephalus was recorded in
two animals.
