Impact of foot-and-mouth-disease on goat behaviour after experimental infection with serotype SAT1 virus

Publication date: Available online 8 February 2020Source: Preventive Veterinary MedicineAuthor(s): Tanja E. Wolf, David D. Lazarus, Pamela Opperman, Livio Heath, Andre Ganswindt, Geoffrey T. FosgateAbstractInfectious diseases and parasitic infestations can cause a set of non-specific clinical signs, such as increased body temperature and resting, and a decrease in food intake. These physiological and behavioural changes have an adaptive function facilitating defences against the pathogen and to support immune functions. These so-called’ sickness behaviours’ can also be used as an early detection tool for disease. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) still causes great economic losses in endemic countries, especially to smallholder farmers. The aim of this study was to determine if behavioural changes in goats can be used as an early indicator of FMD virus (FMDV) infection. The efficacy of a Southern African Territories (SAT) FMD vaccine was studied on forty South African indigenous goats. Changes in daily activities (resting, feeding, walking), as well as social behaviours (social resting, social feeding, dominance behaviours) were recorded and then compared over time and between clinically affected and unaffected goats. Pedometers were used to estimate average daily steps and to compare between groups of study animals.Eleven goats developed clinical signs of FMD, as well as non-FMD related sicknesses during the course of the study. Overall walking and resting behaviours were not...
Source: Preventive Veterinary Medicine - Category: Veterinary Research Source Type: research