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by Suzanne W. Gasparotto 

Goat Polio (Polioencephalomalacia) and Listeriosis (Listeria monocytogenes) are metabolic diseases with similar symptoms that require very different treatments. The goat producer must be alert to the subtle differences in order to know how to treat the sick animal.  In most cases, both of these diseases are seen in goats raised under intensive management conditions. Improper feeding, particularly feeding too much grain and too little roughage, is a significant factor in both diseases. Producers pushing the animal to gain weight too fast can induce this often fatal disease in their goats. Sudden changes in feed can also cause the onset of this disease.

 

Treatment recommended by Coni Ross

Polioencephalomalacia (also known asCerebrocortical Necrosis) is thiamine (Vitamin B 1) deficiency. Any change in the rumen's environment that suppresses normal flora activity can lead to decreased thiamine production. Too much grain decreases the pH of the rumen, predisposing the animal to Goat Polio. Thiamine must be present in order for glucose to be metabolized. If thiamine is either not present or exists in an altered form (thiaminase), then brain cells die and severe neurological symptoms appear. 

A goat with Polioencephalomalacia   

Causes of thiamine deficiency include feeding moldy hay or grain, overdosing with amprollium (CoRid) when treating for coccodiosis, feeding molasses-based grains (horse & mule feeds), ingesting some species of ferns, sudden changes in diet, the dietary stress of weaning, and reactions to de-wormers Thiabendazole and Levamisole. Each of these can interfere with Vitamin B1 production. Even the usage of antibiotics destroys flora in the rumen and can lead to thiamine deficiency. This is why it is so important to repopulate the gut with live bacteria after using antibiotics or scour medications.  Goat Polio is generally seen most often in weanlings and young adults , in contrast to Listeriosis, which most frequently affects adult goats. An increase in Goat Polio occurs in North America during winter, when the availability of forage and quality hay is low and producers start feeding increased amounts of grain.  

Symptoms of Polioencephalomalacia are excitability, "stargazing," uncoordinated staggering and/or weaving (ataxia), circling, diarrhea, muscle tremors, and apparent blindness. Initial symptoms can look like Entertoxemia (overeating disease). There is a component of "overeating" involved in that the rumen flora has been compromised. As the disease progresses, convulsions and high fever occur, and if untreated, the goat generally dies within 24-72 hours. 

Diagnosis is available via laboratory tests, but the producer does not have the luxury of the time that such tests take. Thiamine is the only effective therapy, and treatment can result in improvement in as little as two hours, if the disease is caught early enough. Thiamine is a veterinary prescription but very inexpensive. Producers should always keep thiamine on hand. Dosage is related to body weight; 10 mg/kg should be given every six hours for at least 24 hours. (One kilogram equals 2.2 pounds.) Initially, IV dosage is best, but SQ or IM can be used. Some producers even give thiamine orally after the initial treatment. If thiamine is unavailable but the producer has multiple B vitamins on hand, make sure the dosage is based upon the amount of thiamine in the multiple B vitamins. The key to overcoming Goat Polio is early diagnosis and treatment. Complete recovery is possible under such circumstances. 

Summary: To try to avoid this disease, decrease grain, increase roughage, avoid moldy hay and grain, and don't feed molasses-based (textured) feeds. It must be said, however, that complete avoidance of Goat Polio is impossible at this time. After doing everything "right," producers will still have a goat come down with it occasionally. 

Listeriosis is caused by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, which is found in soil, water, plant litter, silage, and even in the goat's digestive tract. The bacteria is known to multiply well in cold temperatures. There are two forms of Listeriosis: one form results in abortions, while the other causes encephalitis. Both types are seldom seen simultaneously in the same herd. The organism can be shed in the milk of both carrier and sick goats. Its zoonotic potential (ability to be transmitted to humans) is of growing concern. Like Goat Polio, Listeriosis is most often seen in intensive management situations.

Unlike Goat Polio, Listeriosis is more common in adult animals than in kids.  It is entirely possible to buy infected animals and introduce this disease into a previously uninfected herd, because some goats are carriers who never display any symptoms.  Listeriosis is brought on by feeding silage, sudden changes in kind of feed, parasitism, dramatic weather changes, and advanced stages of pregnancy. The encephalitic form is most common, causing inflammation of the nerves in the goat's brain stem. 

Symptoms include depression, decreased appetite, fever, leaning or stumbling or moving in one direction only, head pulled to flank with rigid neck (similar to symptoms of tetanus), facial paralysis on one side, slack jaw, and drooling. Diarrhea is presently only in the strain of Listeriosis which causes abortions and pregnancy toxemia. Listeriosis can be mistaken for rabies. Immediate treatment is critical. There is no time to waste with Listeriosis. Recovery is more "iffy" than with Goat Polio. 

The exact manner in which both Listeriosis and Goat Polio affect the goat is not well understood at this time.  Treatment involves administration of high doses of procaine penicillin every six hours for three to five days, then daily for an additional seven days. Forty-thousand IU per kg of body weight of procaine penicillin is needed to cross the blood brain barrier and put sufficient amounts of the antibiotic into the tissue of the goat's central nervous system. Remember that one kilogram (kg) equals 2.2 pounds.  

Prevention: Feed your goats properly. No silage (unless the producer really knows how to use it, and definitely no silage in the hotter and/or wetter climates). No moldy feed or hay. Clean pens. No sudden changes in types of feed. Lots of free-choice quality roughage, particularly in the latter stages of pregnancy. And cut dramatically back on grain!  

Alert to Goat Show Participants: The manner in which many of you are taught to raise your animals often results in Goat Polio, Urinary Calculi, or a host of other metabolic diseases. Particularly in 4H and FFA shows, many of you are beginners and rely upon the information and training being provided by ag teachers, county agents, and judges. Goats are ruminants, and ruminants are pot-bellied animals. A large rumen is an excellent digestive factory which is necessary to the goat's overall health and growth. There would be fewer goats die from mismanagement if goat show participants would concentrate on displaying the animal's best features rather than trying to make it into something that
it is not. 


Suzanne W. Gasparotto
onioncreek@tennesseemeatgoats.com