Caseous lymphadenitis is a common diesase in sheep and goats and today on Texas Vet News we are going to talk about a new treatment for this disease. The disease is caused by a bacterium and causes multiple abscesses of the lymph nodes, skin, and internal organs. The most common treatment of the disease includes surgically lancing the abscesses, flushing the wounds with a dilute iodine solution, and treating with penicillin. The problem with lancing these abscesses is that the infectious material is allowed to drain and contaminate the environment. Injectable antibiotics have been used in the past but it is difficult to get a good concentration of antibiotic inside the abscesses because they are so thick walled.

However, the veterinarians at Texas A&M recently published a paper on two new techniques to treat these cases in Boer goats using an antibiotic called draxxin that is approved for respiratory disease in cattle and swine. The first new technique is to stick a needle in the abscess's and inject saline into the abscess, then draw out as much material out of the abscess as possible and inject the abscess with draxxin. The second new technique is to stick a needle in the abscess, inject saline, and draw out as much material as possible and then give an injection of draxxin in the animals neck. Results indicated that these treatments were effective as an alternative to treatment of the disease. Although lancing the abscesses was still the most effective treatment, the treatments with draxxin should be considered as it decreases contamination on the farm.