B155 - CONTAGIOUS CAPRINE PLEUROPNEUMONIA

Nature of the disease

Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) is a contagious disease caused by Mycoplasma capricolum sub-speciae capripneumoniae that causes severe fibrinous pleuropneumonia of goats characterised by respiratory distress, coughing, nasal discharge and high mortality rate.

Classification

OIE List B disease

Susceptible species

CCPP only occurs in goats.

Distribution

CCPP occurs throughout most of Africa, the Middle East, India and Pakistan.

Clinical signs

Peracute and acute forms of the disease occur when it is introduced into fully susceptible flocks. Chronic cases occur in endemically affected areas.

Peracute form
Animals die within 1-3 days with minimal respiratory signs.

Acute form

Fever
Mucopurulent nasal discharge
Excess salivation
Coughing and dyspnoea
Diarrhoea
Rapid loss of condition
Mortality rate up to 90%

Chronic form
Goats are debilitated with chronic cough and nasal discharge.

Post-mortem findings

In acute cases there is:

Serofibrinous pleuritis
Unilateral or bilateral pneumonia with varying degrees of lung consolidation
Cut surface of lung has granular appearance with copious straw-coloured exudate
Bronchial lymph nodes swollen

With chronic cases lungs will be in various stages of resolution with encapsulation of acute lesions and numerous fibrous adhesions.

Differential diagnosis

Differential diagnosis:

Bacterial pneumonia (e.g. pasteurellosis)
Other mycoplasma pneumonia
Caseous lymphadenitis

Specimens required for diagnosis

At post-mortem, exudate fluid should be collected from lung lesions together with pleuritic fluid.
Duplicate specimens of active lung lesions — one set should be submitted fresh, the other collected into neutral buffered formalin for histopathology.

Blood samples (10 ml) should be collected from several animals in the affected flock for serology.

Transmission

CCPP is highly contagious. It is transmitted via the respiratory route and is spread by close contact between goats. Unlike contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, chronic carriers are not as important. CCPP spreads to new areas by the movement of infected goats.

Risk of introduction

CCPP is most likely to be introduced to a previously free country by the introduction of infected goats.

Control / vaccines

Where an outbreak occurs in a previously free country, eradication should be attempted by slaughter of all infected and in-contact goats, and the implementation of quarantine and movement controls.

Antimicrobial agents such as tylosin, terramycin or streptomycin can be used to treat clinical cases.
Experimental CCPP vaccines have been produced, but there is no vaccine available for general field use.

References

Contagious Caprine, In Merck Veterinary Manual, National Publishing Inc. Eight ed, 1998, Philadelphia, p 1109-1110
GEERING WA, FORMAN AJ, NUNN MJ, Exotic Diseases of Animals, Aust Gov Publishing Service, Canberra, 1995, 440p
Office International des Epizooties, 2002

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