What does a positive or negative mean?
A positive result means the goat has been infected with the CAE virus and has made antibodies reactive with the CAE antigens used in this test. This goat is regarded as potentially contagious for the virus, especially if lactating. The antibody against CAE is not a protective antibody, and although strong antibody reactions may be detected in this test, infectious virus can still be spread in milk and blood of this goat. As many as 90% of positive goats may be free of clinical signs of the disease, and remain so for years or life. A young goat which has received heat-treated colostrum containing CAE antibodies may also test antibody positive for several months because of passive transfer of maternal antibodies. We recommend retesting these kids after six months of age to determine their true status. A negative result means that this goat is either not infected, or has been recently infected and is producing amounts of antibody too low to be detected. While the latter case does not appe
A positive result means the goat has been infected with the CAE virus and has made antibodies reactive with the CAE antigens used in this test. This goat is regarded as potentially contagious for the virus, especially if lactating. The antibody against CAE is not a protective antibody and infectious virus can still be spread in milk and blood of this goat. As many as 90% of positive goats may be free of clinical signs of the disease, and remain so for years or life. A young goat not infected with CAE virus which has received heat-treated colostrum containing CAE antibodies may also test antibody positive for several months because of passive transfer of maternal antibodies from the colostrum. We recommend re-testing these kids after six months of age to determine their true infection status. A negative result means that this goat is either not infected, or has been recently infected and is producing amounts of antibody too low to be detected. While the latter case does not appear to be
