Diagnostic spectrum
General information
Lentiviruses can cause caprine arthritis encephalitis in goats and Maedi/Visna in sheep.
Caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE)
The pathogen which causes caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) is a retrovirus and belongs to the genus Lentivirus, just like the maedi visna virus. It is a viral disease in goats which causes encephalitis, arthritis and/or mastitis, depending on the age of the animals affected. Development of clinical signs is slow. Neurological changes and interstitial pneumonia will result in ataxia, lameness, paralysis and respiratory distress. Only about one third of the seropositive animals will contract the disease.
The main transmission route is an infection of newborn animals via the colostrum. A horizontal and intrauterine transmission is possible, but of secondary importance.
Maedi/Visna
Maedi and visna are two different diseases in sheep that are caused by a lentivirus of the retrovirus family and belong to the so-called “slow virus diseases”.
Maedi (meaning dyspnoea) disease is characterised by shortness of breath and cough, which are caused by chronic progressive interstitial pneumonia.
Visna (meaning decay) is a slightly contagious but progressive disease of the central nervous system. The animals show paralysis because of a demyelination of the CNS as well as increasing decay.
In Germany, the disease is notifiable upon diagnosis in sheep and goats.