Report of Enterotoxaemia in Goat Kids

Sheep and goats are affected by various infectious diseases among which enterotoxaemia is a notable one since it can cause acute infection leading to sudden death without any signs. Clostridium perfringens type D secretes epsilon toxin that gets absorbed into circulation thus causing enterotoxaemia. Predisposing factors like change of feed, damage to the gut, worm load, etc., can lead to enterotoxaemia. The present report summarizes enterotoxaemia in goat kids of 2 months old that were recently purchased. Three kids out of 19 recently purchased goats died without any clinical signs. Necropsy revealed that there were hemorrhages in the intestine, brain and congested lungs. Collected samples were examined for the involvement of bacterial pathogen and C. perfringens was isolated. Molecular toxinotyping revealed that the isolate was positive for alpha and epsilon toxin genes hence confirming that the isolate as C. perfringens type D. Regular vaccination of sheep and goats should be carried out to prevent enterotoxaemia.