Caprine arthritis encephalitis

Abstract

The caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) is a slow, progressive multisystem degenerative syndrome caused by type C retrovirus subfamily Lentivirinae affecting articular systems, breast and nervous, causing major economic losses, by death or culling of animals, the fall in production, loss weight, predisposition to secondary infections, and spent on treatment and care of veterinarians. The most common clinical signs are arthritis, encephalitis and mastitis, although many of the infected animals remain asymptomatic. The most important way of transmission is vertical transmission through the ingestion of infected colostrum or milk, but horizontal transmission may also occur. The control of CAE is to try to reduce the viral infection in the flock. Having separate mothers at birth goats should be fed pasteurized colostrum. CAE in the list of notifiable by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), underscoring the importance of identifying the disease in the region (OIE, 2011a).