OK, my turn! :-=) CAE, the great neglected disease...if only cattle could get it too, then they would have spent millions finding a cure or prevention or at least would have researched it much more. BUt since it is only a "goat disease" it continues. Seems like everyone has different, yet similar views of it.(posted 8952 days ago)To add to the confusion, I have been told by a person who works at an Ag. research University in Australia that in places like New Zealand and Australia they don't even bother to test for CAE until the animals are one year old. The thinking being false + can occur since the young often carry the dam's antibodies up to 6 months. Also, false + can occur in 1st freshners up to 3 months after kidding. Who knows for sure. Some does can test negative for years and then with no outside exposure, show up positive. Many others can be positive for their entire healthy life and not show one symptom. I have seen goats with clinical symptoms and it isn't pretty. I think it is very well documented that the surest way to spead it is through feeding kids unpasturized milk and non-heat-treated colostrum. Even housing dry does + and - together isn't a sure method of transmitting. Housing lactating + and - has more of a chance for transmittal. Breeding a + buck with - doe isn't likely to infect the doe. I know of a National Champ buck who has been + all his life (with no symptoms) and has sired over 200 kids, all CAE negative without infecting any of the does...so I guess that is pretty good research in itself supporting not transmitting through semen...now if their are open wounds on either, then all bets are off. My personal opinion is that some goats carry the antibody (and that is what they test for) but don't have the disease...kinda like Magic Johnson and AIDS. Since it is a retro virus, it can lay dormant forever and I think very often does.
I think we should be more concerned with CL as someone has mentioned. CAE in many cases, has ended up being a witch hunt...but still needs to be eradicated or at least find a treatment...I think anyone who has kept goats for any length of time has knowingly or unknowingly had CAE + goats in their herd at one time or another.
I have my goats tested and I TRY to stay under 6! Just to know and to be able to sell kids/adults knowing I'm not selling my CAE + problem to another person...I won't do that. Had that done to me and I won't soon forget it. I'll cull first symptoms or not.
All is just IMHO. Notice the heavy use of "I think" throughout my post! ;-) Oh yeah, another opinion, I think it is more widespread in certain breeds than in others, not because some breeds are more susceptble, but because certain breeds just lack numbers so are more likely to encounter a + goat in its travels for breeding purposes or shows, breeds like Oberhasli, Nigerian Dwarfs, Fainting goats, etc...