In sheep, scrapie susceptibility is so strongly associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene encoding the prion protein (PrP) that this linkage constitutes the basis for selective breeding strategies directed toward controlling the disease. For goats, in contrast, the association between scrapie susceptibility/resistance and variations in the PrP gene is far weaker, with o...

Disease is a major constraint in small ruminant production systems in lesser-developed countries throughout the world. Animal health projects have been an integral part of the Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Program (SR-CRSP) from its inception. At the onset, these projects were oriented toward herd health care and veterinary extension activities. Later, all the projects developed...

Caprine coccidiosis, protozoan disease caused by Eimeria species, is major parasitic diseases characterized by contagious enteritis. Severity of Eimeria spp. infection is more in young animals. Two goat kids aged below one year died with history of mucoid to haemorrhagic yellow watery diarrhea, anorexia, emaciation, poor growth and death. At necropsy, gross lesions in intestines revealed diffus...

Lentiviruses (LV) are nononcogenic viruses, belonging to the Lentivirinae subfamily. The name comes from the Latin word “lenti”, meaning “slow”. According to the definition of B. Sigurdsson, they are causing infections in a limited number of hosts with a long incubation period (months and years) and progressive course, accompanied by damage in definite organs/tissues and a lethal outcome (Sigur...

The sensitivity of the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test for the detection of antibody to caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus (CAEV) was investigated with CAEV or ovine progressive pneumonia virus (OPPV) as the source of antigen. A total of 218 goat serum specimens were tested for anti-CAEV antibody by AGID and immunoprecipitation of [35S]methionine-labeled CAEV. In comparison with that of ...

Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV) are members of the Retrovirus family comprising the closely related Visna/Maedi Virus (VMV) and the Caprine Arthritis-Encephalitis Virus (CAEV), which infect sheep and goats. Both infect cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage and cause lifelong infections. Infection by VMV and CAEV can lead to Visna/Maedi (VM) and Caprine Arthritis-Encephalitis (CAE) respect...

Foot rot is a highly contagious and economically important disease of sheep and goats, caused predominantly by Dichelobacter nodosus. The current investigation was intended to analyse the genetic variation for resistance to caprine foot rot among two purebred native breeds of goats(Malabari and Attappady Black) and crossbred (Malabari crosses with Sannen, Alpine and Boer) goats in Kerala state,...

Participatory Epidemiology (PE) was applied on the Maasai rangeland of northern Tanzania to understand pastoralist’s perceptions of the clinical and epidemiological features of Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP). The study was conducted during the period of April 2008 and caprine disease event was directed during the period of July 2006 to June 2007. Participatory methods such as Focus G...

Caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) is a chronic, suppurative disease, with a worldwide distribution, caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. The clinical manifestation of CLA is known to vary between different countries, and has been postulated to be due to differences in the strains present in these countries. Forty-two sheep and goat isolates of C. pseudotuberculosis from Australia, Canada, Ei...