Abstract
The precalen-ce of caseous lymphadenitis was surveyed in 36 goat herds in Northern Norway. In each herd, information concerning the occurrence of the disease was obtained from the farmer. Adult animals (1 year of age or older) in 35 herds were examined for superficial swellings, and serum samples were collected from most animals in the herds. The sera were examined for antibodies to Corynebacterium pseudotuber-culosis using the bacterial agglutination test (BAT) and the hemolysis inhibition test (HIT).
Gaseous lymphadenitis was diagnosed with certainty in 19 herds. Information from the farmers indicated that the disease indeed oc-curred in these herds, and that the majority had been infected with the disease for many years. The herds had apparently become infected through contact with animals from infected herds. Clinical examina-tions were carried out in 18 of these herds and superficial swellings were found in 26 % of the examined animals. The prevalence of ani-mals with lesions varied from 11 to 40 % among the herds. Of the animals in these herds, 81 % were positive in BAT and 84 % in HIT. The prevalence of positive animals varied from 26 to 99 % in BAT and 28 to 99 % in HIT. The prevalence of seropositive animals was lowest in a herd in which animals were kept separately in stalls.
Caseous lymphadenitis could not be diagnosed in 16 herds. In-formation from the farmers indicated that the disease indeed seemed to be absent in 14 of these herds. These 14 herds had no history of contact with animals from herds considered to be infected. However, in the remaining 2 herds, the farmers were somewhat uncertain about the occurrence of the disease. One of these 2 herds had a history of contact with infected herds through participation in a goat “breeding circle”. Only a few of the animals were, however, seropositive and all these had low antibody titres.
In 1 newly established herd, a single animal showed a high posi-tive titre in BAT only. All the other animals were negative in both tests. This particular herd consisted of animals obtained both from herds with caseous lymphadenitis and from herds in which the disease was not considered to occur.
Keywords: serological examinations, clinical examinations, bacteriological examinations
Sammendrag
En undersøkelse over forekomst av kaseøs lymfadenitt ble foretatt i 36 geitebesetninger i Nord-Norge. I alle besetningene ble det samlet inn opplysninger fra eierne om forekomst av sykdommen, I 35 besetninger ble dyr som var ett år eller eldre undersøkt klinisk. I alle besetningene ble sera fra slike dyr undersøkt for antistoffer mot Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis både ved bakterieagglutinasjonstest (BAT) og antihemolysintest (AHT).
Kaseøs lymfadenitt ble påvist i 19 besetninger hvor eierne opplyste at sykdommen forekom. De fleste eierne av disse besetningene opplyste at sykdommen hadde opptrådt i besetningen i mange år, og at den var blitt smittet med dyr fra besetninger hvor kaseøs lymfadenitt var antatt å forekomme. Kliniske undersøkelser ble foretatt i 18 av disse besetningene, og overfladiske hevelser ble påvist hos gjennomsnittlig 26 % av de undersøkte dyrene, med besetnings variasjon fra 11 til 40 %. Ialt 87 % av dyr med hevelser hadde slike lesjoner på hodet og halsen. Det var gjennomsnittlig 81 % positive dyr ved BAT og 84 % positive dyr ved AHT i disse 19 besetningene, med besetnings variasjon fra 26 til 99 og 28 til 99 % ved henholdsvis BAT og AHT. Prevalensen av serologisk positive dyr var lavest i en besetning hvor dyrene var oppstallet på bås.
I 16 besetninger ble kaseøs lymfadenitt ikke påvist. Eierne av disse 14 besetningene opplyste at de ikke hadde dyr med sykdommen og at besetningen ikke hadde hatt kontakt med dyr fra besetninger hvor kaseøs lymfadenitt var antatt å forkomme. I 2 av de 16 besetningene var eierne usikre på hvorvidt sykdommen forekom, og dyr i den ene av disse to besetningene hadde via bukkering kontakt med dyr fra besetninger hvor kaseøs lymfadenitt ble påvist. Det fantes få dyr med overfladiske hevelser i disse 16 besetningene, og alle dyr med hevelser var negative ved BAT og AHT. Få dyr var serologisk positive, men disse hadde lave titer.
I en nyetablert besetning hadde ett dyr høyt positivt titer ved BAT, men det var negativt ved AHT, De øvrige dyr var negative ved begge testene. I denne besetningen var det innkjøpte dyr fra besetninger med opplysning om forekomst av kaseøs lymfadenit og besetninger antatt fri for sykdommen.
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