CL & CAE Test?

[Baaa]

Hi ! I am so GLAD to find ya all again as I cant get into the other goaty site...........

I have a HORRIBLE problem about these test !

We tested our herd for CL and CAE as I had lost my favorite Nubian doe to CAE earlier this summer.
I want a clean herd of my 2 milkers a LaMancha and my Christmas gift of my beautiful registered nubian doe for personal family milk drinking.
We also raise registered SA Boers for selling and meat .

We had the whole herd tested for CL and CAE ..... the test went to the Tx A&M group ........ EVERY goat we had tested thru this lab came back positive for CL except a young doe about 8 mo. old !!!! and there was NO CAE found even tho I lost my doe to this .

The only lump we have ever had in 5 years was the spot on our 3 year old bucks cheek that we were told that it was from eating a grassburr .

I had expected to see some positive CAE but NOT CL .

My NEW Nubian doe had just been given the GOAT shot CL vaccine not the sheep type to protect her from CL and I read that she will now "always test positive" to CL due to the vaccine....... Does this doe REALLY have CL or is she protected ???

Oh...... My LaMancha tested CLEAN for CL and CAE thru ANOTHER lab and she runs with all the other goats .

I am test confused !!

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Well first I doubt you will find even one post on any site that would have told you to send any blood test in to Texas A&M for disease. The run the old outdated AGID tests, and those of us who have been around awhile and started with this test know how unreliable it really is. It's a great tool for testing Johnnes, but that really is about it.

You want a CAE test for Elissa, like WSU uses, go to saanendoah.com and print out the information on it for how to send it in and how much, if you send in extra blood they will also run CL for you, they used to send it to UC Davis for the results, now they do it in house. UC Davis is THE place to CL testing, but yes, if your goats where vaccinated for CL they will forever test positive, why I wouldn't ever vaccinate for it. All CL vaccines are for sheep, there is no CL or rabies vaccines for goats, why some goats seem to have such a bad reaction to them, and why likely you have the titer raised so you will never know if the goats actually have the disease or the test is just catching the antiody. Probably and excellent question for Ross over on the sheep forum...do sheep test positive for CL once vaccinated? Do the testings on sheep tell you the difference between true disease or titer raised by vaccine?

Other than for purchases, I would not base my whole herds health or keeping someone based on only one test.

I will say that even with an old AGID test from Texas A&M I would be worrisome about a positive result, the AGID tests where notorius for giving us false negatives, even in does with clinical signs.

IF you want to use a Texas lab than Pan American Vet labs also does Elissa. I use them yearly, I do use WSU for sales when asked. I use Pan Am sort of a base test, I do yearly colostrum, do a few infant kids a year, do crazy things like blood from umbilical cords, which I will do this year also, doing it also in a kid that is being born to a positive for CAE mom in another herd....have sent in knee fluid from a known positive doe. I have always wanted to do amniotic fluid from a known positive doe, just never have had the chance. Vicki

[Baaa]

THANK YOU Vicki ! I highly value your opinion.

I didnt think to ask this vet where he was sending the test to and thats my fault ! This vet is a new vet we were trying as he will order the Bose for me and the other vet would not, so I went with this one.
We are going to retest ,yikes .....more $$$ !!!

I am going to keep my Christmas doe that I got for myself as I am just too attached to her to give her up now ! I asked the lady about the goat CL vaccine and she said it was made for strictly goats and that she gave the shot to her for protection ,that this doe was pulled and bottle fed with clean milk and that this doe has never had a absess but the does mama had , had 1 a few years ago. I will just have to watch this doe very carefully and give her a booster shot every year !

Like Vicki said ..... there is NO milk does to be found here.... wet or dry for sale ... muchless a registered clean tested doe !