How slowly can caseous lymphadenitis abscesses form? I am boarding a saanen doe for a friend. The doe had 2 marble-size bumps on her side near hr back right leg (in an area where lymph glands would be) when I got her last August. The bumps stayed the same size for the longest time, then disappeared into the baby belly while she was pregnant. The doe gave birth 2 days ago (twin does - yeah) and the bumps are now visible again. They are now golf-ball sized! Although I don't have animals that are from CL free herds, I have never had an abscess in my herd and don't really want to deal with this disease. (I used to work at a petting farm that had CL and although some people say it's harmless but gross, I know it can cause some real problems.) I spoke with my friend about the bumps this past fall but since they didn't seem to grow from August until she started looking big about 2 months ago I had decided they must be tumors. Other than the obvious fact that I need to have the vet out, does anyone have an educated opinion as to what I'm dealing with?

-- Sheryl Adams (radams@sacoriver.net), April 29, 2001

Answers

We have seen CL abscess as large as soft balls and as small as eraser heads. The real danger in CL is from abscess that burst without anyone knowing because of winter hair, and internal abscess which can burst in the bladder, with the doe peeing exude on the ground, in the lung, sneezing and coughing it on other does and barn walls, and of course, bursting in the udder and contaminating you and goat kids. Good luck with this. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 29, 2001.