CL And NON CL (CASEOUS LYMPHADENITIS) Abscesses

Unfortunately every time a goat gets an abscess, the first thing the owner is bombarded with is  lectures on CL (CASEOUS LYMPHADENITIS) caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis ; and the goat owner dealing with this abscess immediately is frightened into culling  the goat.  There ARE abscesses which are NOT CL!

Read this Before You CULL!

Using Formalin to treat CLA Abscesses    

A Quick review of CL

Also known as "Cheesy Gland"  because of the dryish purulent excudate (pus)  

which is caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and typically affects sheep and goats.

It is a highly contagious disease which usually locates itself in the lymph glands but can also be internalized into the lungs and organs.

So, How does a Goat get CL?

The disease is spread through a herd by soil contamination from an external abscess which has burst  and contaminated the environment, then picked up by another animal via mucus membranes or open tissue.. The organisms can live in the soil for extended periods of time- sometimes years, possibly

infecting other animals with open wounds or newborn lambs and kids with umbilical cords touching the ground, does and ewes in milk whose teats are exposed by laying on the contaminated soil are a few examples of how the disease may spread .  It is common for the disease to spread within sheep herds and Angora Goat herds via shearing contaminated animals and  not sterilizing shearing equipment between animals. 

There are 2 forms of this disease- Superficial (abscesses of lymph nodes) and Visceral (abscesses of internal organs). Visceral abscesses will condemn carcasses of meat animals while the Superficial abscesses will ruin the pelt of the animal. 

The Clinical Signs of CL in the Superficial form are visible abscesses just under the skin - usually near the lymph glands: This form is most typical in goats.

 These abscesses are typically filled with pus that is a white, yellow, or greenish color and usually has no real odor. It is a dryish exudate (pus) that appears cheesy. If left untreated, the nodule will grow larger until the wall of the nodule thins and it bursts, allowing the bacteria to be released into the environment. It can live years in the right environment- whether it be in the soil, barn floor or feed bins. "Researchers have shown that the organism is capable of entering the lungs by inhalation and can spread to internal organs by injection into the bloodstream. Studies also show that it can cross the membranes of the digestive tract and vagina, and that a break in the skin is not needed for an animal to become infected." 1

The Clinical Signs of CL in the Visceral form are long term emaciation, coughing, and general poor health. The internal organs most affected are the lungs, kidney and liver- mostly in sheep, but can appear in goats. 

 

NON- CLA Abscesses Diagram:

 Symptoms of CLA

Animal is lagging behind the flock. Dyspnea (shortness of breath) Purulent (Containing, discharging, or causing the production of pus) ocular (eye) and nasal (nose)

discharge Enlarged superficial body lymph nodes Generalized disease is associated with weight loss, depression and loss of appetite Caseous abscesses in the superficial lymph nodes and carcass muscle structure Firm and dry abscess in the kidney and other organs. Soft pasty abscess in the early stages changes to

firm and dry with a characteristic laminated appearance in the later stages of disease. Abscess content is creamy and pasty in goats Pneumonia

 

 

 

Pasteurella Abscess excudate is different in appearance and odor than the typical Cheesy CLA Excudate Pasteurella abscesses have a foul odor and are wetter and sticky - unlike the dryish cheesy appearance of the CLA excudate (pus)- which has little to no odor.Tooth Abscess in goat that "could be" mistaken for a CL Abscess:

 

 

 

Salivary Gland Abscess that also could be mistaken for a CL Abscess

 

goatwisdomAbscesses

8002

12/30/01

Organisms:

Several organisms can be responsible for the development of abscesses. These include:

Actinobacillus lignieresiiActinomyces sp.Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosisCorynebacterium pyogenesDermatophilus sp. Pasteurella multocidaStaphylococcus albusStaphylococcus aureusStreptococcus sp.

Symptoms:

While abscesses can occur on any part of the body, on goats they seem most likely to be found on or under the jaw (parotid and submaxillary glands), on the neck, shoulders (small lymph glands), rear legs, udder and sites of recent Clostridial vaccinations. Absceeses of the udder are discussed on our "Udder care" page (link below).They usually start as fairly firm, round, raised areas that are not very painful to the touch. As they enlarge with time, they will tend to become softer and feel like they are filled with liquid. After reaching their maximun size, the contents will become a little firmer and the size of the swelling may reduce in size. At this point, the abscess may burst on its own discharging pus onto the skin and/or into the external environment. If it does not open and drain on its own, it will continue to shrink and become harder. There are instances in which the contents may be totally resorbed and the abscess will totally disappear. In other cases, a lump will remain in place for a considerable length of time.

Other diseases to consider:ActinomycosisActinobacillosisCaseous lymphadenitisGoat pox

Some sources indicate that you can identify the causative organism by means of the characteristics of the pus ("exudate"). This is a rather questionable statement even for a professional, much less a layman. Generally, a white or light creamy, smooth pus will be indicative of a fairly harmless condition, but there can be exceptions. In order to obtain an accurate diagnosis, you can obtain a culture kit from your veterinarian. Be sure to follow his/her directions exactly. A laboratory culture is a rather expensive procedure; a more reasonable alternative is a "gram test" which can eliminate some of the more dangerous causes. For more specific discussions of some of the organisms, go to the pages for the diseases listed above (when I have completed them!).

Should you call the vet?   [bold type applies]DEFINITELY a matter for your veterinarianDo these things until you can reach the vetYou may be able to handle it youself; for the moderately experiencedFairly simple; give it a try!

Treatment options:The progress of the abscess through its various stages as described above should be carefully monitored. We really feel that it is a mistake to allow it to burst on its own and spread its contents onto the ground, feeders, waterers or other animals. Rather, we feel that it is preferable to lance the abscess at its proper stage. Ideally, this is just before it bursts on its own. And, frankly, it takes a little experience to be able to tell when this is. If you wait too long, you save yourself the agony of having to do the cutting, but you will have possibly contagious organisms being spread all over the place. If you do it too early, there seems to be an increased chance of it returned after lancing.

Lancing: Start by making sure that the area over and about 2 inches from the swelling are clean. Then, clip the hairs as short as possible over and about an inch around it. (Sharp scissors are adequate for this job.) Paint the entire abscess with 7% Tincture of iodine and wait a while for this to dry while you are preparing the rest of the equipment. With a sterile scalpel (NOT your pocket knife or a razor blade!) make an "X" with each cut about 3/8" to 1/2" in length only through the outer layer of skin. This will expose a shiny white membranous surface which can then also be cut in a simlar following the

original "X". As you cut through this layer, pus will begin to escape from the opening. Do NOT squeeze the lump until you have completed both parts of the inner "X", but have a piece of paper towel ready to catch the stuff that comes out. (The purpose of lancing the abscess is to prevent the spread of the organisms; therefore, there's no sense in spreading the pus around while you're lancing it!) Having completed the "X", set down the scalpel and with one hand you can gently sqeeze the contents into a paper towel. Be ready to use several pieces of towel so that you don't spill any of the pus. Do not use excessive force and be alert to any blood vessels that may be rupturing. A trace amount of blood with the pus is not a casue of alarm and is somewhat normal. Excessive bleeding can usually be controlled with slight pressure (unless you have cut a major vessel with the scalpel, which is the reason for making the cut in two stages). When you feel that you have expelled all the contents, insert the clean tip of your iodine bottle (the little bottles which they sell for home permanents make excellent iodine dispensors) into the hole and squirt some directly into the evacuated area. (Hydrogen peroxide used to be used, but it is no longer recommended for fear that the bubbling action may force organisms into the tissues.) Wipe the area carefully; a little water may be necessary to get it real clean.

If you feel that continuous drainage is necessary, cut a cotton swab in half and simply insert it into the hole. (This is a judgment call that takes a little practice.) If used, the swab should be removed in 12 to 24 hours. If there is considerable discharge, such as lymph or blood, it is helpful to put a little NTZ powder (Pinkeye Rx) on the wound to dry it and hasten scab formation. If flies are present, appropriate repellents can be applied. The wound should be observed daily for about a week. It may be necessary to expell the small amounts of pus that develop, but try to do this as gently as possible and be sure to dispose of the contents properly. If, after about a week, there seems to be excessive bleeding or persitent pus development, you should contact your veterinarian. Generally, antibiotics (shots) are not needed in the treatment of abscesses. In fact, it is generally recommended that antibiotics never be given until the abscess is lanced or starts to reduce in size. If the animal exhibits multiple abscesses, then appropriate antibiotic treatment would be in order as recommended by your veterinarian.

A special note is in order regarding those nasty little abscesses which sometimes occur at the site of Clostridial vaccinations ("CD/T", "7-way", etc). Do not be too hasty to lance these; wait for them to "ripen" fully. Frequently they will go away on their own.If you are raising animals for show, you may wish to give these shots in the armpit area where they will be less conspicuous

What is it and How is it Treated?CL (caseous lymphadenitis) is a bacteria that is very good at protecting itself from attack from antibodies. The goats body, when realizing this devious bacteria was doing a good job battling its antibody defense, walls the bacteria off into an abscess. This way the bacteria won't be able to invade the rest of the goats body. Sometimes some of the bacteria slip into the lymph system before the original abscess can form, then the body forms another abscess around those stray bacteria to keep it out of the body.

The goats body is generally pretty good at abscessing all of the bacteria at the lymphatic point of entry. Thus, as most goat owners who treat CL abscesses find, a doe will only have one abscess. Once removed/treated it is gone (though the doe will still have the antibodies, after all she's been 'vaccinated' by the CL assault). Sometimes the goats defense system will miss a few and will have to form a second or third abscess to catch them all. With human intervention in the form of abscess removal or treatment, the animal can be 'cured'. If not treated the abscess bursts and those crafty CL bacteria will continue infecting the animal until it ultimately kills it. Of course bacteria want to survive so when an external abscess bursts the bacteria now has the opportunity to find itself another goat.

So what this means for the hapless goat owner who finds themselves in the situation where a goat of theirs has a CL abscess is that careful management is needed to assure that the CL abscess won't spread. This is done by making sure it doesn't burst and that it is removed/lanced/treated with formaldehyde without allowing the bacteria the opportunity to spread.

Be aware about CL. If you end up with a goat that has it make sure you treat it before it bursts so it won't spread. It has such a long incubation time that you'll be spending several years running around trying to make sure you've eradicated it.

CL Abscess TreatmentsRemoval--This requires a vets intervention. The vet will surgically remove the entire abscess intact.Advantage: There is not a possibility that the CL can escape the abscess and further re-infect the goat.Disadvantage: $$$$$, on the practical side, sometimes surgical removal is risky because of the location of the abscess. The vet could cut a nerve or critical blood vessel. A CL abscess located on the shoulder is easier to remove than a CL abscess located behind the ear. Trust your vet to tell you the risk for this procedure.

Lancing -- You can do this or the vet can do this. Use a sharp razor blade and open the abscess and expunge the puss into a piece of paper towel or something else as convenient to dispose. Then treat the entire area with iodine or anything else that will kill that biological threat we know as CL.Advantage: Quick. Doesn't require anesthetic.Disadvantage: Unless you are really 'obsessive' about cleaning out the abscess and

burning, torching, or otherwise disposing the pus as hazardous biological waste, you may reinfect your goat.

Treatment of formaldehyde (this is the stuff they preserve dead body parts in)--You can do this, though your vet might just laugh at you with the suggestion. Formaldehyde 'pickles' the bacteria. Kills it dead. By injecting formaldehyde into the center of the abscess (1/2 to 1 cc) the bacteria is killed and after a week or so, the abscess will shrivel up and fall off.Advantage: Quick. Cheap. No muss, no fuss.Disadvantage: Formaldehyde is nasty stuff! If you miss the center of the abscess and inject the healthy tissue behind, you may permanently cripple the goat. This happened to me with one goat who jerked his head while I was injecting the formaldehyde into an abscess behind the ear. I hit a nerve. He lost the feeling along one side of his mouth. Dribbled cud from that point on. Made it difficult for him to eat. I just went ahead and put him down. The rest of the goats I've treated over the years, I made sure I had a Sumo wrestler holding them down so I didn't have that problem. All survived to go on and be productive members of my herd.

Working with formaldehyde requires some forethought and a lot of care. Wear gloves (surgical or rubber) because it is not good to contact it with your skin. I generally try to inject up to 1cc in the abscess. Most of the time I wait until the abscess has developed to the size between an acorn (large one) and a walnut (small one). Once it seems to be squishy to the touch, or I get impatient, I treat with the formaldehyde. Draw up 1/2 cc into your syringe and while someone is clamped down on the goat so that it can't move, push the needle into the center of the abscess, draw UP on the syringe. If light liquid comes out, you don't have a CL abscess, which means you need to abort the process. If nothing comes out, it's CL (generally) so you push down on the plunger injecting the 1/2 cc into the abscess. Withdraw the needle and place your finger over the 'hole' so that the formaldehyde doesn't leek out! Repeat the next day. After a week or so you will see the whole abscess shrivel up and slough off. It should be dead (theoretical assumption on my part, but based on the understanding of the chemistry of formaldehyde) by this point so you limit your risk of infecting any of the rest of your stock.

Doing nothing. BAD IDEA!!! In this zero-risk society, propagating potentially transmitted disease gets us no where and may ultimately get us regulated. Let's avoid this by taking care of problems ourselves.

PreventionConsult with your vet. Check out the herd that you buy your goats from - CL and former CL abscesses are easy to spot with inspection. Only buy from people you trust - don't buy breeding goats with no history, like from a sale barn, etc. If you're going to spend tons of money on a breeding goat get a contract/guarantee with the seller with regards to health problems.

OK and now for the disclaimers (my attorney insists on this!): What I've written is my opinion only. If you want to try any of the suggestions you do so at your own risk.

CL is not the end of the world. It is, however, a pain in the butt.