Ky Sheep and Goat Development Office

KY Sheep and Goat Development Office A few weeks back, Dr. Meg Smartjoined us on the Sheep and Goat Radio Hour to talk about her blog, The Amazing Goat http://theamazinggoat.blogspot.com/ Today she sent me a copy of her book - Thanks Dr. Meg! Order yours online from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.

Amazon.com: Goat Production Manual, Second Edition: A Practical Guide (9781450226202): DVM Marion (M

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com: Goat Production Manual, Second Edition: A Practical Guide (9781450226202): DVM Marion (Meg) Smart: Books

Chronic Wasting Diseases of Goats 2 Scrapie

I will not go into much detail as The Maryland Small Ruminant Page has an excellent review.

The following are abstracts from some of the Scientific Literature on Scrapie in Goats which some of you may find interesting.

State-of-the-art review of goat TSE in the European Union, with special emphasis on PRNP genetics and epidemiology.

Vet Res. April 2009;40(5):48.

Gabriele Vaccari¹, Cynthia H Panagiotidis, Cristina Acin, Simone Peletto, Francis Barillet, Pierluigi Acutis, Alex Bossers, Jan Langeveld, Lucien van Keulen, Theodoros Sklaviadis, Juan J Badiola, Olivier Andreéoletti, Martin H Groschup, Umberto Agrimi, James Foster, Wilfred Goldmann

¹ Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Public Health, Unit of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies and Emerging Infectious Diseases of Animals, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.

Abstract

Scrapie is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease of sheep and goats. It is also the earliest known member in the family of diseases classified as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) or prion diseases, which includes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and chronic wasting disease in cervids. The recent revelation of naturally occurring BSE in a goat has brought the issue of TSE in goats to the attention of the public. In contrast to scrapie, BSE presents a proven risk to humans. The risk of goat BSE, however, is difficult to evaluate, as our knowledge of TSE in goats is limited. Natural caprine scrapie has been discovered throughout Europe, with reported cases generally being greatest in countries with the highest goat populations. As with sheep scrapie, susceptibility and incubation period duration of goat scrapie are most likely controlled by the prion protein (PrP) gene (PRNP). Like the PRNP of sheep, the caprine PRNP shows significantly greater variability than that of cattle and humans. Although PRNP variability in goats differs from that observed in sheep, the two species share several identical alleles. Moreover, while the ARR allele associated with enhancing resistance in sheep is not present in the goat PRNP, there is evidence for the existence of other PrP variants related to resistance. This review presents the current knowledge of the epidemiology of caprine scrapie within the major European goat populations, and compiles the current data on genetic variability of PRNP.

Advances in scrapie research

Rev Sci Tech. December 2007;26(3):657-68. 112 Refs

G M Cosseddu¹, U Agrimi, J Pinto, A A Schudel

¹ Laboratory for Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies and Emerging Infectious Diseases of Animals, Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.

Abstract

The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis clearly demonstrated the need to keep animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) under control in order to protect animal and human health. Scrapie is the most widespread TSE of livestock in the world. For this reason, health authorities in different countries have elaborated plans that aim towards scrapie eradication. The unusual nature of the scrapie agent and the fragmented status of scientific knowledge about it, along with the limitations of currently available diagnostic tools, make it unlikely that the objective of eradication will be achieved in the near future. Scientific research is focused on acquiring the knowledge that will improve the efficiency of these efforts.

What veterinary practitioners should know about scrapie

J Am Vet Med Assoc. April 2007;230(8):1158-64, 1120. 63 Refs

Marie S Bulgin¹, Sharon Sorensen Melson

¹ Department of Animal and Veterinary Science, Caine Veterinary Teaching Center, University of Idaho, Caldwell, ID 83607, USA.

Abstract

Scrapie is the longest known and most widely spread of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and remains the model for much of the research regarding these diseases. Because scrapie is a reportable disease and the subject of an active eradication program in the United States, veterinary practitioners should have a basic understanding of the disease.

Additional References:

USA Terrestrial Animal Health Care Code 2010 :http://www.oie.int/eng/normes/mcode/en_chapitre_1.14.9.htm

Scrapie in Canada http://www.scrapiecanada.ca/home.html

Scrapie in Canada Update http://www.scrapiecanada.ca/whatsnew.html

Gift of a goat brings hope of economic independence

http://plancanada.ca/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1334

My other hats

As an academic you often are required to wear several hats. I have been trained in pathology, clincial pathology, large animal medicine, and clinical nutrition. At present my home is in small animal nutrition. I do not need to tell you how old I am as I think you can guess. Retirement is looming. Lately I have taken up pet portrait painting after 40 years of not putting brush to paper. My high school art teacher was Robert Bateman. So I thought I would share with you some of my paintings along with that of Carolina Brown.

A Comprehensive Website about Parasites

For those who have a an interest in the parasites of all species click here

Independent Review of The Goat Production Manual Second Edition

This review was done by Discoveries A Kirkus Service for Self Published and Independent Authors


Everything you ever wanted to know about raising goats but were afraid to ask is here in this handy and informative how-to primer.
Smart, a veterinarian who has raised her own goats, notes the titular animals are hardy, useful creatures—a source of cashmere and angora wool, low-lactose milk for those allergic to the bovine variety and lean meat for a wedding-feast shish kebab; when tethered to a post they even make serviceable “organic lawn-mowers.” But farmers trying to procure these goods and services profitably must pay close attention to the animals’ care and maintenance, a task made easier by this comprehensive, easy-to-follow manual. The author addresses every aspect of goat health and welfare. Goat forage and dietary supplements are covered in great depth, with step-by- step procedures for formulating feed rations that the critters will find nutritious and palatable. The text describes common diseases along with symptoms, treatments and tips on drug administration. A long chapter on goat breeding includes sections on hormone injections to manipulate the breeding season and commentary on the “unique odor and disgusting behavior” of bucks. The information Smart provides is exquisitely detailed—see “Procedures for Examining Manure for Parasites”—and summarized clearly in tables. (The book’s main deficit is its lack of drawings and diagrams, which would come in handy for sections on building shelters, castrating bucks and performing autopsies on goat carcasses.) She leavens the data and procedural with sprightly anecdotes on goat antics, including vignettes celebrating their preternatural climbing ability, skill at using their horns to escape confinement and destroy property and habit of fainting under pressure. Occasionally Smart takes a literary turn too many, as in this parasitology lesson rendered in soliloquy: “ ‘I really don’t remember my life as an egg; once I was passed in the feces, I quickly turned into a first-stage larva.’ ” But novice goat farmers and old hands alike will find here a wealth of expertise presented in a straightforward style.
A lucid, engaging, authoritative guide.

Sheep and Goat Radio Hour

I was recently interviewed by Ray Bowman, the Executive Director of the Kentucky Sheep and Goat Development Office. Click here to listen to the interview.