There are no known treatments for any of the clinical forms of CAE, and animals will not recover. Serological tests are available for diagnosis and screening of herds. A presumptive diagnosis can be made based on the history and clinical findings, taking into consideration the age of the animal and disease pattern. However, as the disease advances, affected goats may walk on their knees and refuse to rise.

Affected goats gradually lose weight and develop a poor hair coat and enlarged joints.Įarly in the course of the disease, affected animals may show progressive and sometimes shifting leg lameness. The arthritic form is most common and is seen in adult goats 1 to 2 years of age. A common symptom of the disease is “head-pressing,” when the animal stands with its head pressed against a wall or other object. The encephalitis form of CAE virus is most common in kids 2 to 4 months of age and is characterized by paralysis that may or may not progress to seizures or death. Other suspected routes include urine and feces, semen, milking machines and failure to use clean instruments on each animal for tattooing, vaccinating, drenching, etc. Transmission from the pregnant doe to the fetus is a possibility, and there is evidence to suggest that CAE can also be transmitted directly from goat to goat, possibly through saliva and nasal secretions.

The CAE virus is transmitted naturally in the neonatal period from an infected adult doe to the kid through consumption of colostrum and milk. CAE causes multiple diseases in goats: arthritis, pneumonia, mastitis and weight loss in adults, and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain and brain stem) in kids. It is caused by a lentivirus, a type of retrovirus, which is a family of pathogens responsible for many immunodeficiency diseases in many species, and most breeds of goats are susceptible. Caprine arthritis-encephalitis (CAE) is now considered one of the most significant diseases affecting the goat industry in the United States.

Caprine species