Transmission and susceptibility
Contact among humans results in the transmission of infectious agents. If you have a cold and don’t take precautions you may give your cold to others. For some diseases, contact between humans and animals can result in the transmission of infectious agents. Diseases that can sicken both humans and animals are called zoonotic diseases. This is a two-way street in that some human diseases can infect goats while some goat diseases can infect humans.
Zoonotic diseases can be transmitted from animals to humans via feces, urine, saliva, blood, milk, meat, fetuses, and uterine discharges. Infection can occur by breathing in aerosolized pathogens, ingesting them, or by direct contact with skin or mucous membranes. Touching animals and then eating before washing your hands puts you at risk of eating fecal material. Similarly, if you rub your eyes while working with your animals, bacteria may pass from your fingers to the membranes surrounding your eye.
Exposure to animal pathogens is a common occurrence for persons raising livestock. In almost all cases, our body’s immune system protects us from the pathogens we encounter. However, the very young and the very old are persons at higher risk of possible infection with a zoonotic disease. Young children are highly susceptible to disease. The E. coli 0157:H7 found in animal manure commonly produces a fatal disease in young children but rarely is a serious disease in adults. Elderly people need to be conscious of zoonotic diseases because immune systems lose some ability to ward off disease as a person ages. Pregnant women need to be very careful around diseased animals as some diseases can affect the human fetus. In addition to age and pregnancy status, other factors or conditions such as a compromised immune system may affect an individual’s ability to fight off disease. For example, Cryptosporidia that only causes diarrhea in normal people can be fatal to persons suffering from HIV.
Prevention
Practice a little common sense and follow some simple rules when working with animals. Wash your hands after being with animals and particularly prior to eating or putting anything into your mouth. Wear gloves when you are handling potentially infected material including diarrhea kids, aborted fetuses, etc. A “mudroom” where your work clothes and boots stay and never enter the house where a toddler may be crawling will help prevent the entry of pathogens into your home. If possible, install a washer and dryer in the mudroom room so that your farm clothes never come in contact with household clothes.
Cuts and lacerations offer an immediate opening for bacteria to enter your body. Cover all cuts with a waterproof bandage and wear latex gloves if the cut is on your hand. Keep very young children out of livestock units. When they are old enough to enter, make sure they understand the concepts of sanitation. Help young children who handle animals to wash their hands or use disinfectant wipes. Explain and follow these procedures with visitors to your farm.
If you work with animals and become ill seek medical help. Inform your physician that you work with animals. Physicians often have very little knowledge of zoonotic diseases and you may need to help them figure out what you have.
Some important zoonotic diseases of goats
| Anthrax | |
| What is it? | Bacterial disease found in the soil in certain areas and in dead carcasses. |
| How do you get it? | Ingestion, inhalation, or skin contact. |
| What does it cause? | Gastrointestinal form, respiratory form, and skin form. |
| How do you prevent it? | Avoid contact with infected/contaminated animals, hides, and soil. |
| How do you treat it? | See a physician. Antibiotic treatment. |
| Brucellosis | |
| What is it? | Bacterial disease spread by cows, horses, and goats. |
| How do you get it? | Direct contact or ingestion. Often via handling an aborted fetus or placenta, via urine or vaccine injection. |
| What does it cause? | Abortion, inflammation of the testicles, undulant fever, headaches, weight loss. |
| How do you prevent it? | Vaccinate all cattle if needed. Test all new entries. Wear protective clothing when dealing with dystocias and aborted animals. Take special care with vaccine. |
| Campylobacteriosis | |
| What is it? | Bacteria causing diarrhea, fever, and abortion in livestock. |
| How do you get it? | Fecal to oral transmission. |
| What does it cause? | Diarrhea with fever and vomiting. Mucus and blood in stool. |
| How do you prevent it? | Avoid getting feces from livestock in your mouth. Wash hands after handling livestock or raw meat. |
| How do you treat it? | Fluids, antibiotics. |
| Caseous lymphadenitis | |
| What is it? | Bacterial disease causing abscesses of lymph nodes especially in sheep and goats. |
| How do you get it? | Contact with pus from abscesses. |
| What does it cause? | Abscesses of lymph nodes both external and internal. |
| How do you prevent it? | Remove infected animals from the herd. Use gloves to handle pus and contaminated surfaces. |
| How do you treat it? | Antibiotics. This can be very difficult to cure. |
| Chlamydia trachomatis | |
| What is it? | Rickettsia causing abortions, conjunctivitis, polyarthritis, and pneumonia in sheep and goats. |
| How do you get it? | Oral transmission. |
| What does it cause? | Miscarriage, respiratory disease. |
| How do you prevent it? | Don’t handle aborted fetus, placenta, or doe. |
| How do you treat it? | Antibiotics. |
| Cryptosporidiosis | |
| What is it? | Protozoa similar to coccidia that can infect almost any animal. |
| How do you get it? | Ingestion of feces. |
| What does it cause? | Diarrhea. |
| How do you prevent it? | Hand washing. Sanitation. |
| How do you treat it? | Self-limiting in normal people, fatal in immune suppressed individuals. |
| Giardiasis | |
| What is it? | Flagellated protozoa that can infect almost any animal. |
| How do you get it? | Ingestion of feces. |
| What does it cause? | Diarrhea. |
| How do you prevent it? | Hand washing. Sanitation. |
| How do you treat it? | Metronidazole. |
| Leptospirosis | |
| What is it? | Bacteria which can infect the kidneys of goats. |
| How do you get it? | Ingestion, through mucous membranes, and cuts in skin. |
| What does it cause? | Renal (kidney) disease, hepatic (liver) disease. |
| How do you prevent it? | Avoid aborted fetuses and urine of animals. |
| How do you treat it? | Antibiotics. |
| Orf | |
| What is it? | Parapox virus causing skin lesions in sheep and goats. |
| How do you get it? | Direct or indirect contact. |
| What does it cause? | Skin lesions. |
| How do you prevent it? | Do not handle goats with lesions on their lips or elsewhere without protective gloves. |
| How do you treat it? | No treatment. Self-curing in one month. |
| Q fever | |
| What is it? | Bacteria Coxiella burnetti. |
| How do you get it? | Inhaling aerosolized organisms. |
| What does it cause? | Abortions in goats and humans, liver disease. Can be fatal. |
| How do you prevent it? | Test your goats. Don’t handle aborted fetus or placenta. |
| How do you treat it? | Antibiotics. |
| Rabies | |
| What is it? | Viral disease of all mammals. |
| How do you get it? | Direct contact with an infected animal. |
| What does it cause? | Neurologic disease with paralysis. |
| How do you prevent it? | Avoid handling animals with suspicious behavior. |
| How do you treat it? | Anti-serum and hospitalization. Usually fatal. |
| Salmonellosis | |
| What is it? | Bacteria which can infect all animals. Generally causing diarrhea. |
| How do you get it? | Oral ingestion of feces. |
| What does it cause? | Severe, often bloody diarrhea. |
| How do you prevent it? | Protective clothing when handling goats with diarrhea. |
| How do you treat it? | Antibiotics. |
| Tuberculosis | |
| What is it? | Bacterial disease. |
| How do you get it? | Ingestion and inhalation. |
| What does it cause? | Various symptoms including pneumonia, weight loss, weakness, fever, chest pain. |
| How do you prevent it? | Avoid contact and close proximity to infected/contaminated animals. Do not drink unpasteurized milk. |
| How do you treat it? | See a physician. |
| Yersinia enterocolitica | |
| What is it? | Bacteria which can cause diarrhea in goats and other animals. |
| How do you get it? | Oral ingestion of feces. |
| What does it cause? | Severe diarrhea. |
| How do you prevent it? | Hand washing. Sanitation. |
| How do you treat it? | Antibiotics. |
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