During a recent veterinary episode on Nat Geo TV, a woman arrived at a clinic with a prized herd doe. The goat’s face was badly swollen and she was gaunt from not being able to eat. A physical exam ruled out injury and dental issues. A blood test confirmed what the owner feared. It was Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL).
CL is the curse of the goat industry. It is a highly contagious disease of goats and sheep caused by a bacterium called Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (C. pseudotuberculosis). This potentially zoonotic pathogen occurs worldwide and has also been reported in horses, cattle, llamas, alpacas and buffalo.
CL is easily spread by animal-to-animal contact, as well as fomites such as flies. CL also easily becomes endemic to the farm. Routine testing, culling infected goats and closing the herd is required until the disease is under control and positive tests are not generated.
Sources
- Farm health online. Link.
- Goatworld.com. Link.
- Washington State University, WADDL. Link. This article is Q and A formatted.
- The Ohio State University. Link.
Also see: Selecting a dairy goat breed, Backyard Goats, June 27, 2020. Link. A guide to goat breeds, including La Mancha, Nubian, Alpine and Saanen goats.
INSIGHTS: As the veterinarian in this episode explained the next steps to the owner, I was reminded of similarities to BVD elimination in cattle herds using testing and elimination of persistently infected BVD cows.