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Caseous Lymphadenitis
by
Judy Muska
There is no cure for any of these. All three can easily be detected with a blood test .
CL is very common, and ramped in goat herds throughout the US .... CL is a bacterium found in soil through out the world. It is very contagious. CL can be internal or external. With CL an abscess forms from the lymph glands., and usually the abscess will appear on the face, jaw line, neck or flank of a goat....although it can appear just about any place on the body.
Anytime you see an abscess on a goat, that abscess should be tested....If it is on the face or neck, there is about a 90% chance it is CL.....The abscess will grow bigger, the hair will fall off around it and it will burst. When it burst it will contaminate the land it falls on, and other goats will step in it and spread it all over your place. Any goat that comes in contact with it is subject to getting CL...Newborns that are born on contaminated land can get it through their umbilical cord, and will have it for life. There is no treatment, ...Goats can live many years with CL, unless its an internal abscess that settles in the lungs......they don't live long with it in the lungs. If a goat has it in the lungs every time that goat coughs, it will contaminate your land and any goats around. If a CL abscess breaks on your land, that land will be contaminated for years and every goat you put in there will be subject to getting CL.
CL is not passed in utero......a newborn is born clean......It can be passed from the Mother if she has an active draining abscess in her udder...the babies will contact it through her milk....ONLY if there is an abscess in her udder.....If the Mother has an external draining abscess, the babies are also subject to getting it, just like any other goats that are around.
That is why it is so important when you are buying goats, to get in writing, they will guarantee you a disease free animal....When you get that animal, have it tested, especially if you are selling breeding stock. No one is going to buy from you if you have CL in your herd....Slaughter plants are now staying away from known CL herds because the contaminated part of the carcass will be waste..and its a sizeable amount.
What do you do if you find a goat with a CL abscess in your herd ? My first answer is to cull the goat. But there is another answer. If you realize you have CL in your herd.....You can do one of two things.....like I said, ...cull the goat., OR you can take the goat with the abscess to your vet, and let him surgically remove it and send it to Grand Labs, where they will make a KILLED vaccine from that abscess......You can then vaccinate your whole herd with this special vaccine from Grand Labs, and the goats already infected with CL, will never form another abscess......therefore, can not contaminate anything or spread it.....They can have babies , that you can still sell and be productive, because they will not have CL...You vaccinate once a year with this vaccine....the first time ...then three weeks later, give a booster.....If you have goats ready to kid ,,,,then you vaccinate again around 3 weeks before kidding. This way the mothers will pass the immunity to the newborns that will last for around 4 weeks...then you vaccinate the kids at 4 weeks old, followed by a booster three weeks later.. If you have goats in this same herd that are negative, this vaccine will keep them from getting CL...... This vaccine is expensive, because they do not sell it in small quanities.....But, it will keep,and you can use it the following year.....It will probably cost in the neighborhood of 400.00..... If you have a clean herd, and want to keep it clean, I suggest you use the Case-bac CL vaccination made by Colorado Serum......It is very inexpensive and can be purchased at most supply houses.....It cost less that 10.00 to vaccinate around 15 goats. This is a killed vaccine made and approved only for sheep, but it does work on goats....I have used it for over 5 years. The only reason this has not been approved for goats, is the cost involved. If this Case bac CL vaccination is given correcty, it is not painful to the goat. It is to be given SQ on the side, never letting needle touch the muscle. This vaccine will in no way help a positive CL goat.......they will continue to get abscesses...... I would suggest to anyone sending blood for testing on CL, to ONLY send it to UC Davis in California. There they use the elisa testing, which is very accurate...It is the only lab in the US doing the elisa testing. After using the vaccine you can still send bloodwork in to prove your animal is CL free. At UC Davis, after using the vaccine, the goat will test positive, but, they can show by the titer count that goat is in fact negative for CL....The vaccine only raises the titers slightely, ...far from what a positive titer reading would be.
Most people starting out in goats have no earthly idea what CL, Johnes, or CAE is....Many unethical breeders, will purposefully sell CL goats to unsuspecting newcomers. I hate to say it, but its done every day of the week. Its their way of getting rid of a CL goat, and making money in doing so.....
Learn about the people you are buying from......When you go into a herd, look at every goat, and ask many question. Take your hands and feel all over the animal you are buying. Look for scars around the face, neck and flank area.....This is the most important thing I could say to people new in goats. I have know of many herds ruined before they ever really got started because of CL....because people didn't know, and no one bothered to tell them.
Copyright © 1998 - 2007 by Judy Muska/Lazy J Goat Farm