[Aujeszky's disease in goats (authors transl)]

Abstract

The small number of cases of Aujeszky's disease in goats referred to in the literature is stressed, and an outbreak in goats causing many deaths is reported. The flock of goats concerned was occasionally housed in a barn during the night in which there also were fattening pigs. The first deaths occurred without previous symptoms, the animals being found dead in the morning. In subsequent cases, symptoms were observed which continued for a few or several hours and consisted in agitation, lying down and rising, screaming plaintively, profuse sweating and, in the terminal stage, spasms and paralysis. Pruritus was not observed in any of the animals. Of the fifteen goats which had been housed in the pig-sty, thirteen died during ten days. In the same period, only one out of forty pigs died, and the others showed anorexia and somnolence for a couple of days but soon recovered. In two goats studied, the virus of Aujeszky's disease was isolated from the central nervous system. It is suggested that, in cases of disease or death in ruminants occurring in the proximity of pigs, there should primarily be a strong suspicion of Aujeszky's disease, regardless of the symptoms observed.