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Originally Posted by southerngurl
Yes, AND your goats will always test positive for CL now. So a lot of people won't buy from you even if they like you and your goats. I can see why people would vaccinate (with the new vaccine) but I just won't, at least not yet. It will be a long time before I consider it. I'll let others be guinea pigs in the meantime I think.
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Supposedly, with the new vaccine, you'll only get a positive titers the first few months after vaccination. After that, your goats should test negative even though they have been vaccinated. HOWEVER, that's not set-in-stone yet.
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Originally Posted by noeskimo
Tennesseemeatgoats.com goat husbandry has some very detailed directions for containment of abscess problems, using Formalin. I don't understand, now, why anyone would destroy a goat that they liked for CL, unless they don't believe in vaccinations, or were unwilling, for one reason or another, to vaccinate against it. Mine are, and it's wonderful to know that I will never have to worry about it. Never had it, never will. There are always better disinfectants than bleach. Bleach will not work if there is any biological material present. Area must be 100% clean for bleach to kill the bad guys.
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The problem with treating the infected animal with Formalin is that it does NOT treat internal abscess that you cannot see (and yes, goats do get the internal ones.), therefore, it does NOT stop the spread of the disease, and it also does not treat the disease in that animal. The animal still becomes unthrifty and immuno-suppressed due to the bacteria working in its body. It can still transmit the disease to other goats, making them unthrifty and immuno-suppressed. In other words, it simply doesn't work as a treatment.
The old CL vaccine, Cas-Bac, caused problems in goats, and it also didn't control the disease very well. Then you had the difficulty that, once you vaccinated, all subsequent tests for the disease popped positive. You had no way of knowing if your goats had caught the disease or not. Coupled with the fact that it was only about 60% effective in controlling the disease, and it simply wasn't a good buy.
The new CL vaccine, by Texas Labs, is supposed to be 91% effective in preventing the disease, and supposedly, blood tests for CL will be accurate if they are done 2-3 months after the goat is vaccinated. HOWEVER, this vaccine is still new, and a lot of us are waiting with bated breath to see how it does in the big field trials and in general used before we jump on the bandwagon for it.
Yes, we want the vaccine, but we also want to be assured of its safety and effectiveness. That means waiting for at least the mid-length (1 year or so) field trials to come back, and maybe the 2 years trials to come back.
We are guardedly hopeful hopeful on this vaccine. If the independent field trials come back and say this vaccine does exactly what the manufacturers say it will, I will be the first in line to buy it up and vaccinate my herd. Until then, myself, and many others, do not yet consider it a standard part of goat management.
I am not the only one who sees it this way, either. Texas A&M at Prairie View, International Dairy Goat Research Center, vaccinated their herds with the new vaccine this year. When Dr. Horner was speaking at our Goat Club meeting, he told me that they are optimistic about the new vaccine, but just did not have the time in the trials to be able to recommend that everyone go out and use it, especially if people already had clean, closed herds like I do.. IDGRC has over 1,000 goats in their research program, and Dr. Horner is keeping us posted on this new vaccine.
Believe me in that as soon as Dr. Horner feels he can recommend the vaccine, that it works as it is supposed to, every single one of my goats is getting it. Until then......I wait.
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