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Control measures for some important and unusual goat diseases in southern Africa
Abstract
The paper comprises an overview of important or unusual goat diseases occurring in southern Africa, with the emphasis on current effective disease control measures and recent developments in this field. The diseases are dealt with under four headings: (1) Infections; (2) Parasites; (3) Plants and nutrition; (4) Genetic and other conditions. In each section, the following are given more prominence: (1) Heartwater, certain clostridial diseases, pasteurellosis, abscessation and orf; (2) Haemonchosis, coccidiosis and certain ectoparasites; (3) Redgut and phytobezoars; (4) Abortions, postnatal mortality, exposure, predation and swelling disease. The major diseases of helminthosis and heartwater are dealt with at greater length. Helminth control currently concentrates on individual treatment of badly affected goats, rather than mass treatment. This lowers the selection rate for worms resistant to anthelmintics. A break with the old policy of “treat-all-and-move” is advocated for the same reason. The use of the FAMACHA© system (clinical anaemia evaluation) for haemonchosis control in goats is explained and the potential of body condition scoring for identifying animals heavily infected with other pathogenic helminths is highlighted. Replacement of highly resistant worm populations by a dilution method is outlined and several practical measures for managing worms in goats are given. The control of heartwater is determined by epidemiological and risk factors, comprising those affecting the vector (climate, season, vegetation, wild reservoir hosts, tick control), the organism (strain virulence, infection rate of vectors), and the host (species, age, breed, genetic resistance and immune status). In circumstances of very low infection risk, surveillance and treatment is recommended. In higher risk situations, strict tick control or zero grazing may be the best option. In endemic areas, immunity is the preferred and most reliable approach. This is achieved by exposure to infected ticks, vaccination and animal selection. Details of these options and their practical implementation are given.
... The higher cost of goat mortalities can indicate that goats are more susceptible to heartwater than sheep or cattle. The high susceptibility of goats to heartwater is worsened by the short duration of goats' immunity against heartwater, which leads to higher mortality rates (Bath et al., 2005). ...
... The cost of goat mortalities represented in Table 5 shows that goats (3.92%) have a higher mortality rate due to heartwater than cattle (0.93%) and sheep (1.39%). This supports the statement made by Bath et al. (2005) that goats and sheep are more susceptible to heartwater than cattle. The highest mortality rate was reported in the North West province, with farmers reporting up to 11.07% of goats dying due to heartwater. ...
... The two most popular prevention measures under the "other" option were correct management and dipping. Bath et al. (2005) indicate that management is one of the most important preventive measures against heartwater. Only 7.29% of all the respondents indicated that the current heartwater vaccine is their preferred prevention measure. ...
Heartwater is a dangerous tick-borne disease for livestock farmers in South Africa and results in annual economic losses for the livestock industry. This study determined the total economic impact of heartwater in South Africa by calculating this disease's direct and indirect costs. Survey data from 272 livestock farmers from six provinces of South Africa was used for this study. Available heartwater research in South Africa only focused on the prevention and control of and vaccination against heartwater, with no research having undertaken an in-depth study of the total economic impact of this disease. The highest cost due to heartwater at provincial level was calculated for the Eastern Cape Province, followed by the North West and Mpumalanga Provinces. Heartwater has an enormous impact on the cattle industry, with an approximate R1 059 million losses experienced each year. The sheep industry experiences a total cost loss of approximately R168 million per year, with the goat industry experiencing about R39 million per year. The total economic impact of heartwater on the South African livestock industry is estimated at R1 266 million per annum. The direct cost contributed 66.47%, and indirect costs contributed 33.57% to the total cost of heartwater. The annual cost of heartwater vaccines contributed the least to the total cost of heartwater, with only 10% of the participants administering the heartwater vaccine. A total of 84.29% of the respondents indicated a need for a new and improved heartwater vaccine. This study emphasises the importance of heartwater in South Africa and farmers' high costs because of this disease. If an improved heartwater vaccine can be developed, the direct cost of heartwater will reduce, which is the bulk of its economic impact. This research can serve as a basis for future research on heartwater, where cost-benefit analyses could be conducted on heartwater's different prevention and control methods.
... Malawi. Whilst enhancing nutrition provides benefit, inadequate nutrition can be deleterious and was 57 identified by Bath et al. (2005) as one of the four major health/disease categories for goats in southern 58 ...
Goat ownership is prevalent across rural Malawi and provides a vital source of income, nutrition, and food security. However, goat performance is poor, and this presents a risk to individuals and communities who depend on them. Nutrition is fundamental to health and productivity of any livestock enterprise, it is required to be able to deal with stresses, such as disease, and to enable growth and production. The aim of this study was to characterise the nutritional profile of naturally available forages in Malawi, including the seasonal variation in nutrition. Samples of herbaceous forages and browse were collected over a 17-month period, across four villages (30 farms/smallholders) in Central Malawi. Forages underwent nutritional analysis for crude protein, fibre fractions, and ash/organic matter and NDVI was used as a measure of forage availability. Forage nutrition and availability appeared most adequate in the wet season, with higher concentrations of crude protein and a greater availability of herbaceous plants. Whilst there were significant differences in low-digestibility fibre fractions between locations, the drivers of this were unclear, but could be due to local factors such as soil and hydrology. The fall in crude protein concentrations from the wet season to the dry season represent a seasonal nutrition-gap which may result in risks to goat health and productivity. Whilst mitigating this through supplementation of persevered forages may be possible, this is a challenge due to limitations of resources and the fact that goats free-roam during the dry season.
... This disease can be treated by parentally injecting the penicillin, prognosis will be very poor if penicillin injected parentally after the appearance of clinical signs, for good prognosis diseases animals may be treated by oral administration of sulphonamide an antimetabolite antimicrobial along with the serum having antibody against Cl.Perfringens (Shank, 2001).Young ones of goat usually treated by administration of five mille litre of D antitoxins by sub cut route, penicillin may be given orally, to neutralize acidity alkaline agent may be given orally, sometimes carminatives may be given to expel the gasses from stomach. In order to restore hydration diseased animals should be provided with fluid therapy, as administration of antimicrobials causes death of normal microflora in the intestine so probiotic should be administer for maintaining the normal microflora in the intestine of diseased animal (Bath et al., 2005) ...
Goat is considered as poor man's cow and is among the earliest small ruminant species to be domesticated and are reared for meat and milk purpose, at least since 2500 B.C. in the Middle East. Goats contributes largely to the livelihood of livestock keeping households of low-and medium-input farmers, many of whom have few resources beyond their small holdings and livestock. It has been observed that maximum production can be obtained by protecting them from different prevalent diseases like enterotoxaemia. Enterotoxaemia is a fatal disease of small and large ruminant's animal species; severe outbreak causes huge economic losses to livestock holders. This disease is also known as pulpy kidney disease due to systemic lesions observed on kidney as it causes nephritis and hydro nephrosis. Enterotoxaemia in goats occurs in four forms, i.e. Per acute, acute, subacute and chronic form. Severe outbreak of this disease observed in warm wet weather at the time of start of monsoon season every year and is having worldwide distribution. Factors which are responsible for exposing the animals towards the enterotoxaemia are sudden changing in diet as animals diet change from poor nutrient pastures to the rich nutrient pastures and changing in environmental temperature as warm wet weather is an ideal environment for the multiplication and toxins production of disease-causing microorganism. It can be diagnosed by detection of specific antibodies, clinical signs and post-mortem lesions. Infected animals can be treated by parental injection of specific chemotherapeutic agents or antitoxins and can be controlled by changing in dietary schedule and vaccination. Still, the pathology and pathogenesis of goat enterotoxaemia is not well understood, with limited studies available in goats. This review provides details information regarding the epidemiology, pathology and pathogenesis of enterotoxaemia in goat which might be helpful for future studies.
... The preferred hosts for adult ticks are cattle, sheep, and goats, and they are found throughout the year but are more abundant in warmer seasons. Although heartwater is not present in all of South Africa's provinces, it is the most economically important tick-borne disease and it has major financial implications for livestock farmers [4,7,8]. The impact of heartwater is validated by the number of livestock mortalities the disease causes and is worsened by livestock farmers' high expenditure that has to be incurred to control the ticks and treat the disease. ...
In an economic sense, heartwater disease is the most important tick-borne disease faced by South African livestock farmers. Methods to control the disease vary among farmers, and the preferred method depends on the prevalence of the disease in a specific area. The cost-effectiveness of different acaricide prevention methods against heartwater disease has not yet been determined amongst South African livestock producers. The study’s objective was to determine the cost-effectiveness of acaricide prevention methods used against heartwater disease in South Africa. Data used for this study were collected through a survey and structured questionnaires from 272 commercial livestock farmers in South Africa. Cost-effectiveness analyses were done on the spray, plunge, and pour-on acaricide application methods. For sheep and cattle, the plunge method proved to be the most cost-effective in all provinces of South Africa. In goats, pour-on acaricide application was the most cost-effective. The study recommends that extension activities provide farmers with information with which to choose the most appropriate acaricide application for the effective and sustainable control of heartwater disease.
Clostridial infections in goats have been associated frequently with enteric diseases or gas gangrene but very rarely with the reproductive system. We describe here 12 cases of fatal postpartum gangrenous metritis in does associated with infection by several clostridial species. Clinically, these cases were characterized by rapid onset of hyperthermia followed by death after kidding. On postmortem examination, the uteri appeared to be necrotic and were hemorrhagic and edematous. Microscopically, the uteri had diffuse coagulative necrosis, edema, hemorrhage, and fibrinous thrombi with intralesional gram-positive rods. Clostridium perfringens was isolated from 7 of 9 uterine samples cultured, and C. perfringens, C. septicum, C. novyi, or C. chauvoei were demonstrated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in the 5 cases examined. IHC for Paeniclostridium sordellii was negative in all 5 cases. PCR performed on 3 of the C. perfringens isolates was positive for alpha toxin and perfringolysin, identifying these isolates as type A. Clostridial infection should be considered in cases of postpartum gangrenous metritis of does.
This datasheet on heartwater covers Identity, Overview, Associated Diseases, Pests or Pathogens, Distribution, Hosts/Species Affected, Diagnosis, Pathology, Epidemiology, Impacts, Prevention/Control, Further Information.
This chapter presents clinically important background information relating to the musculoskeletal system, the differential diagnosis of musculoskeletal diseases on the basis of presenting sign, and detailed discussion of the primary diseases affecting the muscles, bones, and joints of dairy goats. It summarizes the clinical pathologic changes associated with metabolic bone and muscle diseases in goats. The chapter explores some normal values for bone‐related and muscle‐related enzymes and electrolytes in goat serum. It discusses the abnormalities in synovial fluid reported in various caprine diseases. First recognized in the early 1970s, caprine arthritis encephalitis has become established as a significant and costly disease of goats. Mycoplasma infections account for serious morbidity and mortality in goats throughout the world. The most common occurrence of osteomyelitis in goats involves the sternebrae secondary to skin trauma and chronic abscesses occurring in the soft tissues covering the sternum.
Certain conditions can cause local swelling over almost any part of the goat's body. Cellulitis is an acute, diffuse, edematous, suppurative inflammation of deep subcutaneous tissues or muscle. The swelling may be painful and accompanied by fever. Lymph node enlargement is common in animals with joint infection, including caprine arthritis encephalitis virus infection. Lymph sarcoma in goats is a neoplastic disease of unknown etiology, and in some studies is the most commonly identified tumor in caprine submissions. Goiter is an enlargement of the thyroid gland. In ruminants, goiter usually suggests attempted compensation fora hypothyroid state. Atlantal bursitis is a fairly specific but uncommon sign of caprine arthritis encephalitis virus infection. The skin of the ventral abdomen anterior to the udder may become swollen and edematous because of vascular thrombosis in goats with gangrenous mastitis.
The structure and function of the caprine digestive system follow the basic ruminant design and closely resemble those of sheep. This chapter discusses the major diseases that affect primarily the digestive system. Abdominal pain in goats may be manifested by depression, restlessness, bleating, teeth grinding, reluctance to move, increased shallow respiration, increased heart rate, tenesmus, or an abnormal posture with an arched back and tucked‐up abdomen. Rinderpest, or cattle plague, is best known as a devastating disease of cattle caused by a morbillivirus in the family Paramyxoviridae. Bluetongue is an infectious, non‐contagious, arthropod‐borne, viral disease of ruminants. Paramphistomes are trematode parasites commonly referred to as rumen flukes, stomach flukes, or conical flukes. Intestinal tapeworms occur in goats throughout the world. Ruminal tympany, or bloat, is less common in goats than in cattle and sheep.
Barger I. A. 1985. The statistical distribution of trichostrongylid nematodes in grazing lambs. International Journal for Parasitology15: 645–649. Worm counts of the genera Haemonchus, Ostertagia, Trichostrongylus and Nematodirus from 104 naturally-infected lambs were found to follow negative binomial distributions. Although mean counts covered a 10-fold range, k values did not differ significantly among the four genera. It was concluded that all genera were equally overdispersed. Some implications of this overdispersion for flock productivity and for parasite control were examined
Three milliliters of blood from the present commercially produced heartwater infective blood vaccine (Ball3 stock) was experimentally tested in sheep and cattle for infectivity and efficacy. Results obtained for this vaccine dose were statistically not different from results for the prescribed 5 ml vaccine dose.
A specific form of phytobezoar in goats and sheep is described with regard to epizootology, symptomatology, gross pathology, and gross morphology of the bezoars. The probable mode of formation and control measures are also discussed.