Vetdle

Think. Diagnose. Play.

Vetdle Archive

Archive Case #167: Ovine Facial Eczema

Sheep veterinary case - Medium - August 17, 2026

Clinical Clues

  1. Several sheep develop severe irritation and peeling skin on the ears and face after grazing dry summer pasture.
  2. The affected animals seek shade and rub at exposed skin.
  3. Unpigmented or sparsely woolled areas are worst affected.
  4. Biochemistry indicates significant liver damage rather than a primary skin infection.
  5. The syndrome is linked to ingestion of a toxin produced by pasture fungi.
  6. Facial eczema is a hepatogenous photosensitisation disease of grazing ruminants.

Diagnosis

Ovine Facial Eczema

This case is most consistent with Ovine Facial Eczema because the sheep have sun-exposed skin lesions secondary to toxin-induced liver damage. The most important clues are the shade seeking and hepatic involvement, which make a simple contact dermatitis less likely.

Learning review

Review the case evidence

Use the paired clues to explain how the evidence in this sheep case supports the provided diagnosis, Ovine Facial Eczema, then compare your reasoning with the case explanation.

Evidence checkpoints

Clues 1-2

  1. Clue 1: Several sheep develop severe irritation and peeling skin on the ears and face after grazing dry summer pasture.
  2. Clue 2: The affected animals seek shade and rub at exposed skin.

Clues 3-4

  1. Clue 3: Unpigmented or sparsely woolled areas are worst affected.
  2. Clue 4: Biochemistry indicates significant liver damage rather than a primary skin infection.

Clues 5-6

  1. Clue 5: The syndrome is linked to ingestion of a toxin produced by pasture fungi.
  2. Clue 6: Facial eczema is a hepatogenous photosensitisation disease of grazing ruminants.

Self-review prompts

  1. After clues 1-2, what evidence from this sheep case shaped your initial interpretation?
  2. When you compare clues 3-4 with clues 1-2, what changed in your reasoning about Ovine Facial Eczema?
  3. How do clues 5-6 align with the case explanation for Ovine Facial Eczema?

Educational Use

Vetdle archive cases are educational veterinary games for diagnostic reasoning practice. They do not provide veterinary advice, diagnosis, treatment, or professional medical guidance.