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Show Notes
An abscess on a goat does not automatically mean caseous lymphadenitis (CL). In fact, a study looking at 10 years of diagnostic testing at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory found that roughly two-thirds of samples submitted for targeted CL culture came back negative.
In other words, two-thirds of the goats that had an abscess did NOT have CL.
In this episode, Deborah Niemann talks with Dr. Craig McConnel of Washington State University about what the study found and what those results mean for goat and sheep owners.
They discuss the difference between culturing an abscess and using a blood test to look for antibodies, why a positive blood test does not always mean an animal has an active infection, and why screening tests should not automatically be used to make individual animal decisions.
They also talk about Johne’s disease, OPP/CAE, test sensitivity and specificity, prevalence, and why it is important to have a plan for what you will do with both positive and negative test results before you test.
Featured Guest
Dr. Craig McConnel is a professor at Washington State University, where he serves as Director of Veterinary Medicine Extension and Director of Continuing Veterinary Medical Education. He earned his DVM from Washington State University and later completed advanced training in ruminant medicine, veterinary clinical studies, and epidemiology. His research has focused on livestock health, disease epidemiology, herd management, animal well-being, and the economic impacts of disease in dairy and ruminant systems.
For more information
- Prevalence and demographic trends of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (Caseous Lymphadenitis) in domestic goats and sheep: A ten-year retrospective study from the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory Episode 88 - Testing Goats for CAE, CL, and Johne’sEpisode 87 - CL in Goats: Caseous LymphadenitisEpisode 91 - Johne’s Disease in GoatsAbscesses and CL in Goats (article)
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