Ventral oedema in exotic Angora goats (abstract)

Authors: Thompson KG
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 42, Issue 2, pp 74-75, Apr 1994
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Goat, Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant
Subject Terms: Clinical pathology, Diagnostic procedures, Minerals/elememts, Species description, Abdomen, Fluid, Disease/defect
Article class: Abstract

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Abstract: A syndrome characterised by ventral oedema and referred to by many goat farmers as "water belly", has been recognised in New Zealand in Angora goats of South African and Texan origin. It occurs most frequently in young animals in the immediate post-shearing period, when as many as 10-15% of the flock may be affected to varying degrees. Affected animals are usually bright and alert and most will recover spontaneously within 3-4 days. The syndrome may also occur in goats suffering from one of a variety of diseases but in some cases there is no apparent predisposing cause.
Subcutaneous oedema and fluid accumulation in body cavities is well recognised in animals with severe hypoalbuminaemia or congestive heart failure and these mechanisms must be excluded in exotic Angoras with ventral oedema. However. laboratory tests on affected animals have shown that the syndrome can occur in association with serum albumin concentrations well above those expected to result in oedema. The frequent occurrence of ventral oedema in healthy Angoras immediately after shearing suggests an association with stress. The mechanism may involve increased sodium retention by the kidneys, salivary glands and gastrointestinal tract resulting from stimulation of the pituitary/adrenal axis and increased release of mineralocorticoids from the adrenal cortex. Sodium retention, if severe enough, could cause hypervolaemia, hypertension and oedema.
Ventral oedema also occurs in the progeny of cross-breeding between exotic and Australasian Angoras and is likely to be seen with increasing frequency throughout New Zealand following the recent release of South African and Texan Angoras from quarantine.

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