Johne's

[newbiekat]

I have a goat that has tested positive for Johne's through blood tests, ELISA and AGID. She's the only one in the herd... I know blood tests aren't as accurate as fecal tests, but I now decided that if she tested positive (twice) that I need to get rid of her. Am I foolish for doing this? What should be my next step now?

 

[Latestarter]

Sorry to hear this I don't know the answer, but I hope you have her quarantined.

 

[TAH]

I would definitely get rid of her. After you get rid of her I would teat again in a few months to see if any others are positive for John's. I am so sorry to her this.

 

[MrsKuhn]

Im sorry to hear this

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I would consider doing the fecal. This is the most accurate test that can be done at this point. This happened to a friend, her wether tested positive (once or twice- can't remember), then suspect. She seperated him and sent out the fecal. It came back negative. But she had a closed herd and had owned these animals for years. None of the other goats (some were siblings- most were related to the wether) tested positive.

If you have been bringing animals in, have cattle, got them from farms that had cattle or sheep around the goats etc. that might be different.

How long have you had her? Does she have any of the symptoms?

Hard decision for sure. You might want to talk with the lab you are using along with your vet.

 

[TAH]

I didn't know that you could do a fecal to test it. Can you do a fecal test for CL and CAE?

 

[newbiekat]

GW- Where can I get a fecal done? How expensive is it?

I've had her since she was born. Other than the buck we brought in, I don't think we have had any other outside animals brought in. She doesn't have any of the symptoms yet, but she tested positive around 8-9 mos old and the vet told me that it could just be antibodies, so we waited a year to test again (this was the most recent test), and it was positive again.

I know I want to get rid of her for sure, but I don't know what to do about the rest of my herd. None have tested positive yet, but this will be our 3rd year testing. We usually test in the fall when we pull for preg tests too.

 

[Southern by choice]

If you go to Johnes site- http://www.johnes.org/

There are a list of labs that will run the fecal testing. NOT all labs can. Some labs can do ELISA but not the fecal culture. Stick with the labs suggested.

I would isolate this goat. Keep in mind if the fecal does come back positive then all your goats have been exposed.
I would not get rid of her until you know for sure.

The reality is euthanasia is your only option if she is positive. You would not want to infect someone elses land, nor expose any other animals. It is the only way to eradicate.