DISEASES OF GOAT

INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Brucellosis:
 Brucella melitensis
 Infection is by ingestion
Clinical sign:
 high fever,
 anorexia,
 depression,
 emaciation
 Lameness,
 acute mastitis
 even death
 cause abortion in goats – late pregnancy (3rd to 4th
month of pregnancy)
 Retention of placenta
 Diagnosis:
• Clinical sign:
• Abortion in 3rd trimester of gestation,
• Retained placenta
• Orchitis
• Lesions:
Necrotic placentitis
Cotyledons

Hyperaemic
Swollen
Surrounded
by browish edudates
Leathery appearance
• Direct microscopic examination (DME)
– Modified ZN/ Koster’s staining
– Smears from placenta (Cotyledons)
– Vaginal mucous
– Semen
– Foetal stomach contents

Gram –ve
Cocco-bacilli in clumps
 Immunological tests
• Rapid plate agglutination test
• Tube agglutination test

Titre of 1:40 and

above is considered
+ve

It is better to test
with
acute and
convalescent
serum (paired
serum samples)
Milk ring test
Card test

ELISA
PCR
 TREATMENT
• No specific treatment which can brucellosis in
domestic animal
• Oxytetracyclin, Streptomycin may however, be
tried
 Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia

• Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumonia

• Infection is by droplet
• Incubation period = 4 days

• Death in 3-7 days if untreated

 TREATMENT

• Tetracyclin, tylocin tartrate ( 10 mg/kg BW),

tiamulin or Oxytetracyclin (15mg/kg BW/ day).
• Prognosis for complete recovery is guarded
Control
• Longley’s vaccine
– Is an auto vaccine
 Tetanus:
• Clostridium tetani
• Portal of entry is through deep puncture wounds
• Has high case fatality rate
Clinical findings:
• Incubation period: 3 days to 4 weeks
• muscle stiffness
• Trismus with restriction of jaw movement,
• prolapse of third eyelid,
• stiffness of hindlimb causing an unsteady, straddling gait
and
• the tail is held out stiffy, especially when backing or
turning
• Anxious,
• alert expression,
• erect ears,
• dilation of nostrils
• Hyperesthesia
• Drooling of saliva
• Saw horse posture
Treatment:
 Eliminate the causative bacteria – admin penicillin
parentrally, after administration of antitoxin
aggressively clean the wound site if it is found
 Neutralize residual toxin with antitoxin
 Control muscle spasms until the toxin is eliminated or
destroyed – chlorpromazine (0.4 – 0.8 mg/Kg BW i/v
or 1.0 mg/Kg BW I/M three to four times daily)
 Maintain hydration and nutrition – by intravenous or
stomach tube feeding during critical stages
 Provide supportive treatment
CONTROL
• Passive immunity with tetanus antitoxin
• Active immunity with tetanus toxoid
• TT 3-4 months of age , repeat at 6 months and
then annually. 0.5 - 1 ml sc or im
 ENTEROTOXEMIA
• Caused By Clostridium perfringens
• Infection is by ingestion
• Clinical sign:
Manifested only by sudden
death,

clinical signs are not being observed beforehand.

Occasionally death is precided by abdominal pain
and convulsions
 Treatment:
• Hyper immune serum is the specific
treatment
• Fluid and supportive therapy
• Administration of antibiotics like penicillin
may prevent further proliferations of
organism and production of toxins
Prevention:
Vaccination – Raksha – ET S/C – 2ml;
Primary vaccination 4 months of age and
above; revaccination annually
 Listeriosis:
• Listeria monocytogens
• Infection is by ingestion
• SIGNS:
• Placentitis, fetal infection, abortion or still birth,
neonatal death, metritis and possibly viable
carriers
• Encephalitis
• Death may occur 24-48hrs
• Initially affected animal is anorectic, depressed, and
disoriented.
• They may propel themselves into corners, lean against
stationary objects, or circle towards the affected side.
• Facial paralysis with a drooping ears, deviated muzzle,
flaccid lips and lowered eyelid often develops on the
affected side, lack of menace response and profuse
salivation
• Terminally affected animal fall and unable to rise, lie on
the same side
• Abortion at last trimester of pregnancy
 Treatment and Control:
• Antibiotics like penicillin (44,000 IU/Kg
BW I/M, daily for 1 – 2 wk), ceftiofur,
erythromycin, and trimethoprim/
sulfonamide
• Supportive therapy with fluids and
electrolyte
• Spoiled silage should be avoided
 Foot rot
• Common crippling infection of goats
• It is associated with two types of bacteria-
Dichelobacter nodosus and Fusobacterium
necrophorum.
Signs:
• aggressive progression of foot scald, an
inflammation between the toes that usually affects
one foot; painful inflammation between toes; cause
severe lameness
• Typically animal graze on their knees
 Foot will become
pink to red;
 the skin between the
toes will be slimy and
foul smelling.
 If not treated early,
hoof may slough off
 Overgrown, cracked
or damaged hooves
predisposes this
condition
 TREATMENT
• Systemic treatment with antibiotics
• Trimming the claws; foot bath with
medicated water (10% copper or zinc sulfate)
Control
• provide clean dry enviroment
• Practice good hoof care and management
Pestedespetitsruminants - PPR
• Acute or Sub acute disease - Caused by morbilli
virus
• Contagious disease; 80 – 100% mortality
• Otherwise called “ goat plaque”
• Sign:
• fever, oral necrosis, mucopurulent nasal and ocular
discharges, cough, pneumonia and gastroenteritis -
diarrhoea
• Transmission is by close contact and confinement
• Incubation period is 4 – 5 days
Control:
• There is no specific treatment. But
treatment for bacterial or parasitic
complication reduces the mortality in
affected herd
• Local or federal authorities should be
notified when PPR is suspected
• Vaccination – attenuated PPR vaccine
prepared in vero cell culture is
available(Raksha ppr)
• Vaccination starts at 3-4months ; repeat
at 4th yr. 1 ml SC
Goat pox
• Acute disease of goat caused by epitheliotrophic virus – capripox virus
• Incubation period is 15 days
• Fever and a variable degree of systemic disturbance develop. Eyelids become
swollen, and mucopurulent discharge crusts the nostrils. Widespread skin
lesions develop and are most readily seen on the muzzle, ears, and areas free
of wool or long hair. Palpation can detect lesions not readily seen. Lesions
start as erythematous areas on the skin and progress rapidly to raised,
circular plaques with congested borders caused by local inflammation,
edema, and epithelial hyperplasia.
• Lesion may be found on the udder
• Transmission: air borne, may occur by direct contact with lesions or
mechanically ny biting insects
• Live, attenuated virus vaccines induce longer immunity than inactivated virus
vaccines. Live, attenuated, lumpy skin disease virus also can be used as a
vaccine against sheeppox and goatpox.
 orf
• Also called contagious pustular dermatitis
• It is a dermatotropic virus belonging to para pox
viridae
• Lesions are usually found on the lips and udder
• Infection is by contact with affected animals;
wounds and abrasions may be portal of entry.
• Incubation period: 5 to 8 days; morbidity is 90%
while mortality in uncomplicated cases is low
Signs
• The mouth and feet are most
commonly affected.
• At first small, reddened areas
appear and begin to weep a
clear fluid. This fluid eventually
hardens into a thick brown scab.
• In the early stages the scab is
firmly attached and if forcibly
removed, a raw bleeding area is
exposed.
• After two to three weeks the
scabs dry up and drop off. The
underlying skin then heals
rapidly
Diagnosis:
Signs and lesions

TREATMENT:
Topical or systemic antibiotics to prevent
secondary infections
PREVENTION:
Vaccination every 6 – 8 months
FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE
• Contagious disease, caused by an epitheliotropic
enterovirus of the ‘picorna’ virus group
• Infection is by ingestion of contaminated
materials. Virus is voided in the saliva, semen,
urine, feces, milk and discharge from the wounds
of teat and can be mechanically transmitted by
man. Aerogenous and droplet infection is also
possible
• Incubation period is few hours to a few days
Sign:
• High fever, anorexia depression, reduced milk yield
• On formation of vesicle in mouth, temperature falls
• Vesicles rupture due to movement of jaws and tongue
leaving angry ulcers with raggered and irregular edges
• Plentiful salivation and so animal makes smacking noise;
saliva dribbles in strings
• Vesicles at interdigital space of foot, these ruptures and
leaves red sores which being painful and render animal
lame
• Mastitis due to infection in teats; abortion and infertility
may occur
 TREATMENT
• Localised treatment: rince the ulcerated vesicles
found on mouth, tongue, leg, good, teat with either
normal saline, or 1% Kmno4
• After cleaning, apply antiseptics then ointment over
the wound
• Bandage all legs for the prevention of flies

• VACCINATION
• at 6-8 was; repeat every 6 - 8 months
1 ml sc
CAPRINE ARTHIRITIS AND ENCEPHALITIS

• Clinically manifested as polysynovitis – arthiritis

in adult goats
• Subclinical or clinical interstitial pneumonia,
indurative mastitis ("hard udder”), and chronic
wasting
• The CAE virus is an enveloped, single-stranded
RNA lentivirus in the family Retroviridae.
• CAE virus infection is widespread in dairy goat
breeds but uncommon in meat- and fiber-
producing goats
• The chief mode of spread is through ingestion of
virus-infected goat colostrum or milk by kids.
• Signs of polysynovitis-arthritis include joint capsule
distention and varying degrees of lameness.
• Affected goats lose condition and usually have poor
hair coats
• Affected kids initially exhibit weakness, ataxia, and
hindlimb placing deficits,Encephalomyelitis .
• Hypertonia and hyperreflexia are also common. Over
time, signs progress to paraparesis or tetraparesis and
paralysis.
• Depression, head tilt, circling, opisthotonos,
torticollis, and paddling have also been described.
TREATMENT
• No specific treatment
• Supportive treatment are regular foot
trimming, use of additional bedding,
administration of NSAIDs such as
phenylbutazone or aspirin.
• Antimicrobial therapy for to prevent
secondary bacterial complication
PARASITIC DISEASES
 Haemonchus contortus infection
• Haemonchus contortus, commonly referred to as the
barber pole worm, is a clinical problem for goats.
• Anemia, low packed cell volume (PCV), diarrhea,
dehydration, peripheral, and internal fluid
accumulation are common signs of barber pole
worm infestation.
• Infested goats have lower growth rates, markedly
reduced reproductive performance, and have higher
rates of illness and death.
.
 Signs of the barber pole worm
infestation in goats
• Diarrhoea
Dehydration
Unthrift appearance, rough hair coat, depresssed,
low energy, lethargic, and uncoordinated
Significantly reduced growth and reproductive
performance
Fluid accumulation in sub-mandibular tissues
(bottle jaw), abdomen, thoracic cavity, and gut
wall
Blood loss, white mucous membranes,
anemia/PCV
 Diagnosis:

• Based on symptoms
• Faecal examination reveals egg
TREATMENT:
• Albendazole 7.5 – 10 mg/kg orally
• Fenbendazole 5 – 10 mg/ kg orally
• Mebendazole 5 – 10 mg /kg orally
• Tetramizole 15mg/kg orally
• Morantel citrate 6mg/kg orally
• Ivermectin 0.2mg/kg sc / orally
 Moneizia
• Mature tape worms are found in intestine
Signs:
• Loss of body weight
• Stunted growth
• Rough body coat
• Pot belly
• Diarrhoea and constipation
• Anaemia
• Excreation of tapeworm segments in the faeces
DIGNOSIS:
• Signs
• Presence of eggs or white segments of the tapeworm in faeces
TREATMENT
• Niclosamide 75-100mg/Kg B.wt orally
• Albendazole 10 – 15 mh/ kg B.wt orally
• Praziquantel 5mg/kg B.wt orally
 coccidiosis
• E arloingi, E christenseni, and E ovinoidalis are
highly pathogenic in kids.
• Clinical signs include diarrhoea with or without
mucus or blood, dehydration, emaciation,
weakness, anorexia, and death.
• Diagnosis:
• Faecal sample examination
• TREATMENT:
• Sulfadimidine at 55 g/tonne is also effective for
control of coccidiosis in goats. In nonlactating
goats, adding monensin to the feed at 18 g/tonne is
preventive.
 Strongyloides
• Called as threadworm or pinworms
• Predilection site is small intestine
• In intestinal wall, causes severe inflammation
(enteritis) and diarrhoea (sometimes
hemorrhagic), loss of appetite, strong weight
losses and even death after massive infections.
Anemia can also occur
• Larvae migrating through the skin can produce
dermatitis with strong itching, especially in the
legs
• several benzimidazoles (albendazole, febantel,
fenbendazole, flubendazole, mebendazole,
oxfendazole, etc.), levamisole and pyrantel.
• Several macrocyclic lactones (e.g. abamectin,
doramectin, eprinomectin, ivermectin,
moxidectin) are effective against adults,
migrating larvae and even dormant larvae.
METABOLIC DISEASES
 BLOAT
SIGNS:
• In any type of bloat, the goat’s left flank will
bulge, and it sounds like a kettle drum if tapped.
• Symptoms of bloat include signs of pain, such as
.
• In an advanced case, the goat may already be
down due to respiratory failure or other
complications.
 TREATMENT
• If the animal is not in an emergency state, the first step in treatment is to
immediately remove the goat from the feed, if that was the cause. Do not give
water to a goat who has ingested large quantities of grain, because water will
add to the fermentation rate and cause the grain to expand. Wait maybe 12
hours before you give water - after the goat has eaten roughage to help
stimulate the rumen.
• Antibloat agent – liq. Paraffin 8 – 10 ml / kg BW
• Ruminotonics
laxabulk, blotospiril, tiril, blotorid, tympol
PREVENTION:
• Roughage feeding
• Lasolocid – suppress slime producing bacteria
• Spray paraffin in grazing land
Lactoacidosis:
ETIOLOGY:
• Ingestion of toxic doses of soluble
carbohydrate diet.
• Feeding of pulmorized grains, left over rice,
fermented rice, ration rice
Pre-disposing factor:
• Sudden change from low energy diet to high
energy
 CLINICAL FINDINGS
• Lateral recumbency
• Cold extremities
• Dry muzzle, unconsciousness
• Weak fast pulse
• Increased respiration, heart rate
• Oligouria , fluid filled rumen
• Administer 2 to 3 ounces of sodium bicarbonate by
mouth, which will help neutralize acid in the rumen.
• Magnesium hydroxide or magnesium oxide can also be
used to neutralize rumen acid.
• Encourage consumption of long-stemmed grass hay
and water.
• Many animals with acidosis will require IV fluids to
survive.
• Antibiotics will help prevent secondary bacterial
overgrowth with undesirable organisms.
• Thiamin treatment is recommended because
polioencephalomalacia is a potential sequela.
• Anti-inflammatories will help prevent toxicity and
founder.
• Probiotics should be administered to replace the
beneficial rumen organisms that have been killed due to
low rumen pH.
PREGNANCY TOXEMIA
• Deadly disease that occur during late gestation and
early lactation
• Decrease in glucose in the body is the main cause
Sign
• Characterized by partial anorexia and depression
• Listlessness, aimless walking, muscle twitching
• Neurological signs, opisthotonus, grinding of teeth
• Blindness, ataxia, finally sternal recumbency, coma
and death
recumbancy
 TREATMENT
• Oral propylene glycol ( 60 ml bid for 3 days)
• 50 % dextrose intravenously