Posted by GoatWorld on March 06, 2002 at 09:32:35:
In Reply to: Abcesses posted by Justine on March 06, 2002 at 04:34:08:
Hi Justine,
In my opinion there are two ways that you can tell if an abcess is going to be contagious or just a simple abcess:
One way is by having the material that is drained from the abcess tested by a veterinarian or diagnostic testing service (lab bloodwork). The other way is by the actual appearance of the material that is drained from the abcess itself. If it is really thick and stinky, there is a great probability that it is going to be CL. I guess the "consistency" is best described as a "thick, toothpaste like" consistency. But, one should remember that if you lance an abcess before it has actually just gotten to the point where it is ready to burst, the consistency may be thinner.
CL of course is very contagious, not only to the other goats, but to other animals and humans as well. Personally, I would have each goat tested for CL/CAE and cull all the goats that have it. CL can either appear external (in the form of the abcess) and/or internal on the lungs, etc. and both are contagious. And as well, the other animals that are near or around the goats are at risk as well.
The school might do best to cull all the goats (and other affected animals) and "try" and decontaminate the areas where they were housed by either burning the soil and spreading agricultural lime on the soil. Burning in my opinion is more effective but not always the most prudent choice. It takes awhile for the CL bacteria to be eliminated.
On the other hand, not all abcesses are CL either so you may have something else going on with these goats, and in that case, chances are less that these abcesses will be spread from goat to goat. But from what you have written, I have a sneaking suspicion that you are dealing with CL here and every goat that is brought onto the premises is at risk of catching it.
If this is CL, it is a problem that you are going to be dealing with about every four to six months - depending on the goats immune system. The abcess is just the way the goats immune system "walls off" the CL bacteria that are present (this according to Natural Goat Care). Goats with CL can still lead long lives, etc., but the risk again is to the other goats that are brought onto the premises. Until a definite vaccine is found, all goats are at risk.
There is one company called Colorado Serum that has a CL vaccine of sorts that "might" work, but many in the goat industry are skeptical. I've had many people tell me that giving the CL vaccine that is used on sheep will work on goats - only if given SubQ and not IM. I don't know if this is true or not, but several people have claimed it works. It might be something to look into.
Best regards,
Gary