A retrovirus belonging to the subfamily Lentvirus.

Present in Queensland, mainly in dairy goats in eastern parts of the state. It has also been reported in the United States, Canada, Europe and New Zealand.

• goats

Most goats are infected when young through colostrum or milk from infected does. They generally develop the disease months or years after being infected. They remain infected for life.

The signs of disease vary according to the age of the animal. Effects can last several months.

Young goats

Symptoms in young kids may include:

• encephalitis in young kids 2–4 months old
• a short, stilted gait occurring suddenly, and progressing to arthritis and paralysis
• pneumonia
• hyperaesthesia developing, with convulsions and death.

Affected kids often retain their alertness and appetite during the early stages of the disease.

Mature goats

Symptoms in mature goats include:

• depression
• weight loss
• changes to coat (becoming more rough)
• mastitis
• enlarged and painful joints, leading to lameness, incoordination and progressive paresis and paralysis
• arthritis, generally in mature goats around 1–2 years old (but can occur as early as 4 months).

Some mature goats may also suffer from encephalitis.

Economic

Economic impacts may include:

• high cull rates
• reproductive losses
• milk production losses
• animal deaths
• loss of trade.

Any contact that enables transfer of body fluids can spread the infection into and within a herd. This includes:

• close goat-to-goat contact, for example, from colostrum or milk from infected does when goats are young
• shared use of facilities such as pens, bedding, and feeding and watering points
• equipment
• contaminated hands, clothing and footwear.

While breeding and in utero transmission to foetuses are not considered risks because the virus does not cross the placenta, the birthing process can be a risk factor for infection if vaginal tears expose kids to blood.

The disease is generally slow to develop and infected animals could take months or years to show clinical signs; however, they may be infective well before they show signs.

The infected animal remains infected, and potentially infective, for life.

Infection can happen at all stages of life, but kids are most at risk.

Blood or milk samples may be used to test for CAE. For diagnosis, the clinical history and clinical signs, and histopathology (microscopic examination of tissue samples) provide essential information.

Only introduce goats from CAE-free herds, or have their blood tested before joining them to herd.

Remove all infected goats from the herd.

Remove kids from infected does at birth and keep them in isolation. Only feed them bovine colostrum and milk, milk substitutes, or milk from known CAE-free does. Kids affected by the disease should be humanely destroyed.

There is no successful treatment for infected animals.

GoatMAP is a national goat health accreditation program coordinated by Animal Health Australia (AHA) that includes a module for CAE (called CAEMAP).

Accredited herds present a very low risk of CAE infection, so are promoted as sources of low-risk goats.

A register of GoatMAP-accredited herds is published on the AHA website.

The owner of a flockherd, in consultation with their veterinarian, is responsible for meeting the conditions and costs of their GoatMAP accreditation.

CAEMAP requirements include:

• agreement between the herd owner and the veterinary practitioner
• strict biosecurity and herd management to prevent entry and spread of CAE
• initial accreditation testing of either 2 rounds of herd tests (using blood and/or milk samples) or 4 rounds of bulk tank-milk testing
• ongoing testing to progress and maintain accreditation status
• documentation and record-keeping.

A voluntary CRV Control Scheme formerly administered by Biosecurity Queensland has been retired in favour of GoatMAP.