Effect of caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus infection on milk cell count and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase activity in dairy goats.
Bacteriology, somatic cell counts (SCC) and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (NAGase) activity determinations were conducted on milk samples collected from does in three dairy herds with caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus (CAEV) infection. In two herds, CAEV-infected does were more likely to have a subclinical bacterial infection of the udder than CAEV-free does (P < 0.05). Does with CAEV but no bacterial udder infection had significantly greater mean SCC and NAGase activity than CAEV-free does without udder infection (P < 0.01). In two herds, changes in milk SCC and NAGase associated with CAEV infection were similar to those produced by coagulase-negative staphylococcal infections. The findings confirm that indirect indicators of bacterial mastitis infection may have reduced specificity in dairy goat herds with CAEV.
New South Wales Agriculture, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Camden, Australia.
D P
DP
Ryan
P L
PL
Greenwood
P J
PJ
Nicholls
D000118:Acetylglucosaminidase / Q000032:analysis*; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D016088:Arthritis-Encephalitis Virus, Caprine / Q000276:immunology; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary; D002452:Cell Count / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D006041:Goats; D016180:Lentivirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008413:Mastitis / Q000150:complications / Q000662:veterinary; D008892:Milk / Q000166:cytology* / Q000382:microbiology; D015995:Prevalence
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000118:Acetylglucosaminidase