Veterinary Services

Alimentary tract disorders

Paratuberculosis (Johne’s disease) was diagnosed in an eight-year-old male feral goat that was reported to have lost condition over a number of months. The carcass had a wet appearance, and showed ascites and severe oedema of the mesentery. One 10cm length of ileum was found to have a narrowed lumen, secondary to mucosal thickening. Numerous clumps of acid-fast bodies with morphology resembling Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis were seen on Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stained smears from the affected section of intestine.

An 18-month-old pygmy goat was submitted to the Edinburgh Centre for necropsy when it died after a short period of distress and vocalisation. On examination there was found to be an intussusception of the blind end of the caecum, with congestion and haemorrhage of the mucosa. There was no evidence of parasitism, and no other underlying intestinal pathology was identified.

Skin diseases

Chorioptes spp. mites were seen in skin scrape material received at the Perth Centre from a male goat.