Study of a prevention programme for caprine arthritis-encephalitis.

A prevention programme for caprine viral arthritis-encephalitis was monitored in 363 goat herds between 1988 and 1990. The level of contamination in the female kids fell from 49.5 to 25% by the end of the 2-yr period during which the programme was applied. Some 19% of the female kids that had been substitute colostrum (cow colostrum or goat colostrum heated to 56 degrees C for 1 h) were contaminated compared with 45% of those that had been given raw colostrum. The segregation between the animals submitted to prevention measures and those that were not are presented to illustrate the efficiency of prevention of horizontal transmission.