Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Research Paper

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Caprine arthritis encephalitis is a viral disease of goats. Caprine arthritis encephalitis, also known as CAE, is a lentivirus that is part of the retrovirus family. Another type of retrovirus is the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. CAE is normally spread orally through goats. It has been linked to being spread through semen of an infected buck. CAE is a virus that can attack the nervous system. All potential buyers need to have their animals tested before purchasing. Bringing just one infected goat home can easily pass the disease on to the other goats.
CAE cannot be spread through other species besides sheep. This disease can only attack other animals in the Caprine family, such as Boer goats, Spanish goats, Dairy goats, Fainting goats, and has also been linked to sheep. Wild ruminants cannot get infected with CAE, but they have found another form of lentivirus in them. This lentivirus is not a concern to domestic goats and sheep at this time.
Caprine arthritis encephalitis can cause many different symptoms. Symptoms can include arthritis, mastitis in lactating does, weight loss, pneumonia and encephalitis. Some do not have any symptoms, while others have many.
Arthritis is more common in mature goats than in kids. The …show more content…

By selling an infected goat to a previously CAE negative herd can result in the entire herd being exposed to the disease. Before buying a goat every buyer should ask for blood work to be done. The goats need to be tested before purchasing the animal. If the animal is positive the buyer should rethink the option to buy. All goats should also have a health check before buying to check for other viruses and infections such as pink eye, sore mouth, ring worm and Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL). All of the above can easily spread through the entire herd in the matter of days. CAE can take longer for the herd to be contaminated, but nobody wants to take the

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