Occurrence and pathology of caprine arthritis - encephalitis in young goats in Kenya

Abstract

Six kids of the Small East African (SEA) goat and their crosses aged between 3-16 weeks from three districts of Kenya were examined. Clinically, the kids were observed to have incoordination, muscle tremors, staggering, torticollis and paralysis of all limbs. Those brought in extremis were recumbent, bleating like in extreme pain and attempted to chew. On postmortem examination, all the kids had partially collapsed lungs and small dark red patches, two had congested brains and one had dilation of the lateral ventricles with excessive fluid. One kid had swollen carpal joints and a portion of the small intestine was almost completely encircled with lymphoid tissue. The mesenteric and other lymph nodes were moderately enlarged. Microscopically, all kids had non-suppurative ventricular encephalitis, interstitial pneumonia and generalized lymphoid hyperplasia. On the basis of clinical presentations, gross and microscopic features, it was concluded that they all had died of the encephalitic form of caprine arthritis – encephalitis (CAE). This is the first report of the nervous form of CAE in Kenya, and also the first to document encephalitis together with arthritis in a kid