Diseases transmitted by ticks are diagnosed in goats during the warm season and in certain regions. The cause of disease is not the ticks themselves, but the microorganisms that live in their bodies and, when bitten, enter the body of ruminants. Let's look at the causes and symptoms of piroplasmosis in goats, diagnosis of the disease and its treatment, what needs to be done to prevent the disease from occurring in domestic animals.
Causes of the disease
The causative agent of piroplasmosis is the protozoan Piroplasma ovis. The disease is seasonal and appears during the tick breeding season (May-August). Registered in the southern regions.Goats suffer from piroplasmosis often in combination with babesiosis, which is caused by a similar type of parasite – Babesia ovis. The protozoa is carried by Rhipicephalus bursa ticks. The disease is typical for goats, sheep, cows, and horses. Animals of all breeds, from one year of age, are affected. Young animals rarely get sick.
Protozoa parasitize in the red blood cells of animals, where they get there after a tick bite. In ticks they are found in the saliva.
Symptoms of the disease
Piroplasmosis occurs acutely and subacutely, rarely chronically. After infection of animals on pasture, the incubation period of piroplasmosis lasts 1-2 weeks. The first signs of a disease that has already begun to develop are an increase in temperature to 42.4 ° C, depression, and a decrease in motor activity. Animals move little, lie more in shady places, and react weakly to what is happening. Their breathing and pulse quicken, and muscle tremors occur. The milk yield of milking individuals decreases. The mucous membranes first turn red, but after a couple of days they become pale yellow.
The work of the rumen slows down at first and stops after 4-5 days. The stool is dry, but covered with mucus, sometimes blood is visible on it. Urine is initially yellow and cloudy, then may turn red. In previously ill individuals, upon re-infection, the disease may enter the chronic stage. During exacerbations, their temperature rises, edema, cachexia, and depression are noted.
Diagnostics
The diagnosis is made based on blood tests. In samples, piroplasms are detected only after signs of the disease—temperature—appear in sick individuals.
When making a diagnosis, take into account the season and region where ticks can live. Piroplasmosis is differentiated from leptospirosis, anthrax, and anaplasmosis due to similar symptoms.
Pathological changes in piroplasmosis in dead animals are exhaustion, pallor and yellowness of the mucous membranes. Enlarged spleen and kidneys with pinpoint hemorrhages under the capsule. The heart is pale, also enlarged, with hemorrhages in the epicardium or myocardium. The liver is also enlarged, icteric, clay-colored, tissues are easily torn. The intestinal walls are thickened and also covered with hemorrhages. Blood effusions are found on the serous membranes of organs.
Treatment of piroplasmosis in goats
After identifying sick individuals, all goats need to have their temperature measured. For those with increased blood pressure, a 7% solution of Azidine or Berenyl is administered intramuscularly. Dosage - 0.0035 g/kg. Azidine can be replaced with a 1% solution of Hemosporidine. The drug is administered subcutaneously in a volume of 0.5 mg/kg.
The next day, the temperature is measured again. Animals whose values are above 40 °C are given repeated injections. Individuals with a normal temperature are observed for 3-4 days; if there are no changes during this time, they are released to the rest of the goats.
During the treatment period, patients are separated from healthy ones and placed in a separate goat barn. The room should be cool. Diet: grass and root vegetables, fresh water. Additionally, vitamin B12 is injected or introduced into food, since piroplasmosis causes a deficiency of this substance.
Additional drugs to support the systems and organs of sick animals - caffeine to stimulate cardiac activity (orally or subcutaneously), to stimulate the work and cleanse the intestines - laxatives and enemas.The dosage of all medications and the treatment regimen must be selected by a veterinarian; you cannot treat it yourself.
Undesirable consequences
Without treatment, piroplasmosis is a fatal disease. Its duration is 5-10 days. The death rate of goats can be 60-80%. But even with therapeutic support, recovery is slow. Self-healing does not occur. Traditional methods of treatment are ineffective. Recovered animals acquire non-sterile immunity, which lasts for a year. There is no long-term immunity, that is, theoretically, goats can become infected with piroplasmosis every season.
Preventive actions
If goats graze on pastures where cases of piroplasmosis have been reported, the animals are bathed in acaricidal baths or treated with sprays. If there are a lot of ticks in the area, such treatments are carried out every week and a half.
When keeping goats on pastures in the summer, you should try to move them there in the spring, before ticks appear in the adult stage. When new animals are purchased, they are quarantined, examined and given Azidine. Preventive measures in the form of treating goats with acaricides are the main method of combating the disease. It is better to periodically bathe or manually process the skin of animals than to treat them for a long time.
Goats get sick with pyroplasmosis from late spring to autumn, in those places where the presence of ticks is noted. These are small parasites that are difficult to notice on the animal’s body. They not only feed on the blood of ruminants, but can also bring them greater harm - infecting them with a fatal disease. If it is not possible to graze goats on pastures free of parasites, you need to inspect them more often and treat them with acaricidal preparations for prevention.
