Chat
05-12-2016, 07:54 AM
CAE is transmissible through blood and milk. Goats could possibly give it to each other when butting heads if both have a scur come loose, but the chance of wethers transmitting it is very low as far as I know. CAE+ goats nearly all got it as babies from drinking unpasteurized milk from CAE+ does. This is why it's important to have does tested for CAE before kidding and to remove the kids immediately at birth if the doe is positive. Many CAE+ goats never show physical signs of the disease and can live long, full lives. I believe stress can trigger CAE to go from latent to clinical. While the risk of transmission among wethers is low, most folks won't keep a CAE+ goat in their herd with clean animals because a low risk is still a risk and not everything is known about how this disease is transmitted.
CL is a nasty business but cannot be spread between goats unless there is an open abcess. Once a CL abscess bursts, the pus is very contagious and the bacteria can live in the soil for a very long time. I culled a doe whose blood tests showed she had a CL infection. If that had been the only strike against her I probably would not have culled her since she had no external abscesses. The CL blood test is not as reliable as the CAE blood test, and some CL+ goats live out their lives without ever getting an abscess. I did a lot of research into CL when our goat came up positive, and apparently some goats and some breeds are much more resistant than others. They may develop antibodies (which is what the blood test shows) without ever developing the disease. The blood test simply shows that your goat has antibodies to CL bacteria, which means they have been exposed to it. It doesn't necessarily mean they have an active infection. Goats that have been vaccinated against CL will have positive blood tests. A goat can live a long, productive life even if they have an active CL infection because unless it attacks some internal organ, the disease is not usually serious. The reason people take it seriously, though, is because of the extremely contagious nature of the bacteria. You have to quarantine the goat with the abcess and make sure ALL of the pus is extruded and that none of it gets into the soil or is carried on your clothes or shoes to other parts of the farm. The abscess wound must be dry, closed, and healing before you can safely let our goat back with the others, and this can take time. I personally did not want to deal with this risk since I have no good place to quarantine a goat.
Johnes disease is really quite rare among goats from small herds. It more often happens in goats that have been housed in crowded, unsanitary conditions, usually on the same ranch with cattle. Johnes is much more common among cows than among goats. A six-year-old goat in good health is very unlikely to have Johnes disease. Johnes is a wasting disease and most goats who have it will start showing clinical signs by age four or five.
CL is a nasty business but cannot be spread between goats unless there is an open abcess. Once a CL abscess bursts, the pus is very contagious and the bacteria can live in the soil for a very long time. I culled a doe whose blood tests showed she had a CL infection. If that had been the only strike against her I probably would not have culled her since she had no external abscesses. The CL blood test is not as reliable as the CAE blood test, and some CL+ goats live out their lives without ever getting an abscess. I did a lot of research into CL when our goat came up positive, and apparently some goats and some breeds are much more resistant than others. They may develop antibodies (which is what the blood test shows) without ever developing the disease. The blood test simply shows that your goat has antibodies to CL bacteria, which means they have been exposed to it. It doesn't necessarily mean they have an active infection. Goats that have been vaccinated against CL will have positive blood tests. A goat can live a long, productive life even if they have an active CL infection because unless it attacks some internal organ, the disease is not usually serious. The reason people take it seriously, though, is because of the extremely contagious nature of the bacteria. You have to quarantine the goat with the abcess and make sure ALL of the pus is extruded and that none of it gets into the soil or is carried on your clothes or shoes to other parts of the farm. The abscess wound must be dry, closed, and healing before you can safely let our goat back with the others, and this can take time. I personally did not want to deal with this risk since I have no good place to quarantine a goat.
Johnes disease is really quite rare among goats from small herds. It more often happens in goats that have been housed in crowded, unsanitary conditions, usually on the same ranch with cattle. Johnes is much more common among cows than among goats. A six-year-old goat in good health is very unlikely to have Johnes disease. Johnes is a wasting disease and most goats who have it will start showing clinical signs by age four or five.