Goats and Sheep are subject to a number of infectious diseases. You can have testing completed to ensure your goat herd is free of these diseases. please contact you local vet or other breeders for advice on this. 
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                                       What is Johne's disease (pronounced ‘yo-nees’) ?


  • JD is seen more often in dairy goats than meat or fibre goats,
           but all breeds may be infected if they come into contact with the bacterium.

  • Goats and Sheep  acquire infection at an early age through eating contaminated pasture or drinking contaminated milk or water.

  • The signs of disease develop slowly and the disease is rarely seen in young animals.
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  • Johne's disease is a chronic wasting disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis. It invariably leads to the death of the animal.
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  • In Australia, Johne's disease has been found in cattle, sheep, goats, deer and camelids.
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  • The bacteria that cause Johne's disease live in the  animal's intestines and cause thickening of the bowel wall that interferes with normal absorption of food. 
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​                                                      There are varying strains of Johne’s disease.

  • Bovine Johne’s disease (BJD) is generally caused by the ‘C’ strain of the bacteria. BJD affects mainly cattle but also goats, deer and camelids.
  • Ovine Johne’s disease (OJD) is generally caused by the ‘S’ strain of the bacteria. OJD affects mainly sheep but also goats.


                                                                              Johne’s Facts
    • The primary route of infection is by kids ingesting infected faeces
    • The Johne’s organism (MAP) can survive in the environment for many months
    • A single animal can shed millions of bacteria every day
    • There is no treatment for Johne ’s disease.
                                                     What is CAE disease?
                                                              (Caprine arthritis encephalitis) 


​                                            fs_caprine-arthritis-encephalitis_final.pdf
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  • CAE is a serious disease that causes major production losses in goats world wide through mastitis, ill-thrift, arthritis, pneumonia, paralysis that moves up the body, and brain disease (encephalomyelitis)
 
  • There is no cure for CAE.
 
  • The disease is also known as ‘big knee’ and is caused by a lentivirus or ‘slow’ virus associated with encephalomyelitis in kids and slowly-developing disease syndromes in older goats.

                                                                     How is the disease spread?

  • The main spread of the virus between goats is through drinking infected milk either as a kid or as an adult.
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  • Goats kept in close quarters can spread the virus through respiratory secretions, eg nasal discharge, and cough, saliva and tears. Venereal spread may also occur. 
 
  • Goats kept in close quarters can spread the virus through respiratory secretions, eg nasal discharge, and cough, saliva and tears.
 
  • A clean goat herd will most likely become infected by a CAE-positive goat coming on to the property.
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  • The best way to know if your herd has CAE is to have all animals over six months of age blood tested (serology). This testing is arranged through your private veterinarian. 
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