Septic arthritis?

75

Well-Known Member
Not come across this before but shot a roe buck tonight which had an aladins slipper on one front foot, with enlarged toe joint and an enlarged toe joint on the other. Seemed to be a bit of white discharge when I cut into joint - not obviously pussy, but could well have been. Everything else was perfectly normal, no unusual behaviour before the shot, no enlarged nodes and otherwise healthy looking carcass. He was a 6 pointer but based on teeth, I'd say probably at him prime rather than well into old age.

Any thoughts?View attachment 87358
 
Not at all. You've noted that all the LN are normal and if he wasn't lame pre-shot, it's old disease. When you skin it, take a good look for the pre-scapular lymph node (in front of the shoulder) and the axillary nodes (between leg and chest wall). If they are really enlarged, then bin the forequarters to be sure, but the rest should be fine.
 
Very unlikely that he had active septic arthritis as he was weight bearing and behaving normally. I would expect any animal to be in some discomfort when there is ongoing septic arthritis. I would not dispose off the carcass if it is, otherwise, normal.
 
Thanks for the advice and perhaps I'm being overly cautious but I'm not going to take a chance - one side definitely looked like an old injury / infection (the aladins slipper side) but one side was more recent and "softer" to the touch. Plus there was the white discharge / puss from the joint when I cut into it. All the best practice says that septic arthritis carcasses need to be disposed of and not enter the food chain and I'm fairly sure that's what he had.

Plus, thinking about whether he was lame pre-shot - really hard to tell as he was in a gully so I only saw the top half of him. I watched him browsing normally for 10 mins or so before he presented a shot and, while he appeared to be moving normally, he didn't move more than about 5 yards and I didn't get a clear view of his legs so impossible to say for sure whether he had a limp.
 
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Understood. You are the one in front of the carcass. For information the references below are first from DI, second is the official guidance for abattoirs. The third is a good manual from AHDB with good photos. There used to be a general, "One joint good, two joints bad" but this seems now to be - judge on a case by case basis. The crucial point is that you are right to ask the question.

Arthritis and Septic Arthritis


If only normal arthritic changes within joints with no associated infection, simply note on declaration. If joint and/or rest of carcass is septic, abandon inspection/ processing and do not allow into food chain. Dispose of in approved manner.

https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/chapter-2.4.pdf
http://beefandlamb.ahdb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Abattoir-post-mortem-conditions-guide.pdf
 
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