. . . & what's Johnnes & what's Mycoplasma & what's Brucellosis & what's Type-A Clostridia & what's Staph. Aureus & . . . LOL! Ain't this goat husbandry stuff FUN to try to figure out?!
Re CAE:
There is SO much conflicting information out there that it is difficult for even the most well-read, astute breeder to develop a seemingly educated stance on the subject. I have researched this topic endlessly & have decided that I can only refer to myself as "Agnostic", LOL. . . "I do not know & I do not believe it is possible to know."
Points to ponder while trying to derive your own conclusions . . .
- WSU (commonly considered the "End All Be All" when it comes to CAE) states "The risk of spreading CAE virus by sexual contact is considered rare if at all." Assuming they're referring to hand-breeding thus allowing us to rule out lateral transmission possibilities . . . since it's transmitted via blood cells, it'd be reasonable to assume that in order for it to be transmitted sexually, some type of "extinuating circumstance" at the time of breeding (eg: injury to both penis & vagina) would need to be present. As far as transmission via A.I., from what I've gathered, it's not carried in the semen itself but there has been discussion on old semen from "back in the day" when using milk for processing was a popular method. Either way, the extreme temperatures involved in semen storage would likely destroy any virii that might be present. (Please note: the latter statements being "2nd hand information" & not something I derived from "scientifically oriented" material. If anyone *knows* otherwise, please post & include your sources, b/c . . . I'm always seeking more solid information to add to my repertoire.)
- There are several strains of CAE - some pathogenic, some latent.
- Thanks to the conscientious & diligent husbandry practices of our "Forefathers" since the discovery of CAE, it would seem that the majority of the pathogenic strains have been "bred out". Since statistics (10 year old statistics at that) indicate that only 10% of today's CAE+ animals actually get "clinical", w/ an even fewer number of that 10% actually dying from the disease, it would be reasonable to assume that the other 90% are apparently negative &/or are carrying a natural resistance. Hence: animals testing positive for the antibody but remaining disease-free - never exhibiting a symptom & living long, healthy, normal lives. There are breeders out there striving to breed CAE-resistant animals . . . we just don't hear abt them b/c of all of the "hype" surrounding everything.
- There is a myriad of conflicting information going around regarding transmission - direct vs. lateral. To add to the confusion, veteran breeders personally experienced in the disease provide information that directly conflicts w/ the so-called "scientific findings" on the disease. WSU states that, aside from the obvious colostrum/milk mode we're all aware of, that it's oftentimes directly transmitted due to "operator error", specifically mentioning things like: using new needles/syringes for each animal when vaccinating, cleaning tattoo equipment between animals, etc. I'd be inclined to add to that: improper "biosecurity measures" when it comes to milking procedures, especially machine milking without flushing inflations/hoses between each doe. They also state that lateral transmission usually involves some type of "repeated, direct contact", since the virus can only live inside blood cells &, once outside the body, only survives for a very short time. . . indicating that it isn't quite as readily transmitted laterally as is often touted. Something that I was particularly interested to learn is that water causes the blood cells to burst, rendering the virus non-infectious. This would support instituting the practice of flushing inflations/hoses between milkers & would somewhat allow us to rule out the common belief that community water receptacles are a main source of transmission - as far as from the drinking water itself. Since WSU also states that "CAE can be spread via nasal secretions and saliva if there are blood cells in the secretion" - it'd be reasonable to assume that we could consider other "secretions" that could contain blood cells as a source, too. Perhaps that is where the "repeated, direct contact" statement would apply as far as lateral transmission, due to animals coming into immediate contact w/ those secretions (eg: via a dry part of a water receptacle, feed receptacle, etc.; lounging in the "piles" they like to congregate in, etc.).
We don't test. If the virus were better understood, the information more "scientifically solid" & the tests more reliable, we might consider it just for curiosity's sake, so we'd know where we stood & be able to utilize that information accordingly. We would not cull an otherwise healthy animal merely for a positive test result. To us, that'd be indicative of a good, strong immune system & . . . hardiness is an important factor in our breeding program. On this farm (aside from faults or things of that nature that any breeder would cull for), animals are culled for ill-thrift &/or based upon symptoms of something we don't wish to waste time/energy/etc. dealing with. We do however "Practice Prevention" strictly . . . as far as flushing inflations/hoses in between each milker & taking great care in the handling of raw milk; catching breed-stock kids at birth, 'pasteurize-raising' them away from the adult herd, etc. That's done not just for CAE purposes but, since we show & who knows what you get exposed to when you take your animals off-farm & intermingle w/ other herds & all of their cooties . . . do what we can to protect our animals from all of the other disease possibilities lurking around out there. . . many of which are much nastier & more frightening than CAE, IMO!
= = = = = =
Re: Caseous Lymphadenitis - I don't have any what I'd consider "hands on" experience with the disease but I have been seriously contemplating vaccinating for it since realizing how prevalent it is in our community's herds. Breeders around here are frighteningly ignorant abt disease just in general, not just in goats but in ALL livestock. Worse, our area vets imply that most of the issues are merely "normal goat stuff" - & when it comes to C.L., actually tell people that "it's more of an inconvenience than anything else" & not all that worrisome. & yes, I actually had a vet say those very words to me when I'd taken a goat into him for examination a few years ago . . . a goat that I'd paid a pretty penny for AND shipped cross-country. Naturally, only to discover "a suspicious lump" on her that her seller told me was nothing to worry abt. "Probably just a splinter that got infected." Thankfully, she'd been kept in quarantine here b/c that vet looked at the lump & said "Yep, looks like a C.L. abscess", informed me that he had it in his sheep & gave me the "more of an inconvenience than . . ." line - but said he wanted to get a sample to send off for analysis to be sure. I told him no WAY was he poking that thing & then expecting me to bring her possibly-cootie-spewing self back to MY farm, jeopardizing the rest of my healthy herd I've worked so hard on! I asked him where the nearest meat auction was being conducted that day. He thought I was out of my mind for being that quick to meat out a valuable, quality animal. But I did just that - left his office & headed straight for the nearest meat sale (50 miles one way) & got a whopping $28-something bucks for that goat. Not even enough to cover my vet bill, much less the gas involved in traipsing around all day. & nope, the jerk I bought her from didn't feel it was necessary to "make right" on the situation, either, so . . . $500-something bucks out the window, there. But . . . at least had the peace of mind that I'd "done the right thing" for my herd's well-being.
That being said, I'm not sure what I'd do if I ended up w/ it in my herd to be honest. The longer I'm in goats & the more veterans' brains I pick the more unsure I get on how I'D react, LOL. I was talking to an extremely well-respected, lonnnnnng-time breeder a couple of months ago & this topic came up. I was very surprised to finally get some honest insight, esp. since we all know that so many things are kept "hush hush". He said that it's definitely out there & probably more prevalent than I think - even in real popular show herds who tout otherwise. Further, that no matter HOW careful you are that eventually, "everyone" ends up w/ things of this nature at one time or another. He said that nobody would admit it but that most would NOT cull a valuable animal for C.L.. When I asked how the heck you'd handle something like that, he said that he personally just keeps a completely separate area on his farm, away from "regular traffic", that they're very careful abt, "biosecurity-wise" & . . . that's how you handle something like that.
Whew, scary stuff, huh? I kinda liked being ignorant better, LOL.
Regards,
Sarah