Question of the Day

You cannot tell if either kid is truly CAE positive or negative yet. Should probably retest both after 90 days, or at next semiannual herd testing.

A positive ELISA test for caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) in a kid less than 90 days old may reflect maternal antibody or a false positive. A negative test in a kid less than 90 days old does not rule out CAE (though most kids infected at birth from colostrum develop a measurable antibody response by 4-10 weeks after infection).

Note lots of qualifiers about CAE testing: A positive test in an adult goat implies infection, but does not confirm that clinical signs were caused by CAE virus. Negative tests do NOT rule out CAE infection.

DEFINITIVE Dx is to find characteristic lesions by biopsy/necropsy. Virus isolation can substantiate Dx, but may not be practical on herd basis.