CARMA'S CASE
Dust-Induced Interstitial Pneumonia

OCR Carma, Tennessee Meat Goat™ doe at Onion Creek Ranch in Texas, was found down in a drought-stricken pasture around noon on a Sunday in December 2010. She was on her side, mouth breathing and paddling with all four legs like a goat does when it is close to death. Carma had been seen eating with the rest of her herd only two hours earlier. Three attempts were made to stand her upright; Carma could not stand and fell to the ground each time.

She was brought to the Vet Building, where the dust was cleaned from her nostrils, mouth, and face, and her rectal temperature was taken (a slightly above normal 104.8*F). With not a drop of rain since August 2010, the relentless West Texas winds had been blowing dust for weeks. Three other goats had already developed dust-induced interstitial pneumonia, one case of which turned into emphysema and it had to be euthanized. My immediate concern was that Carma's fever had already peaked and was rapidly dropping. It is much easier to bring high temperature down, and interstitial pneumonia is more responsive to treatment when fever is present. When a goat has pneumonia and body temperature peaks and then drops below 100*F, it is almost impossible to save it, so I knew I had to take immediate action - plus have luck on my side - to save her.

Next step was to get her hydrated. Carma was severely dehydrated. Into a bucket of warm water, I mixed Bounce Back electrolytes and offered it to her. Sometimes it is necessary to put the goat's muzzle into the electrolytes, but Carma drank immediately. I made sure that she didn't drink too fast by removing the bucket and replacing it several times. I then gave her Nuflor antibiotic IM (into the muscle) for infection, Banamine non-steroidal anti-inflammatory IM to bring the fever down, and perhaps most importantly of all, the generic version of Expectahist oral decongestant/antihistamine/expectorant that my vet had compounded for me to clear her lungs. (Branded Expectahist is no longer on the market.)

Amazingly, Carma was like her old self, resisting being handled, within 30 minutes. This is by no means a normal turn-around and was frightening in its quickness. I kept Carma at the Vet Building's treatment area for a full five consecutive days, during which time she was medicated daily with Nuflor antibiotic and given Expectahist orally twice a day. The Banamine was discontinued once her rectal temperature was normal. She began eating green leaves on the second day while complaining loudly about being kept from her herd. I always know that a goat is getting better when it starts resisting being handled. Her rapid rebound from being on her side paddling and mouth breathing to complaining about being confined is attributable to her young age (six years old) and her general good health. Thankfully this illness did not occur several months ago, when she was nursing three kids, because that additional stress might have been enough to make recovery questionable. Carma appeared to be fine earlier that Sunday morning. If my ranch helper had not deliberately been riding pastures to check for sick goats, Carma would have died . . . probably within 30 minutes of the paddling/mouth breathing episode.

Suzanne W. Gasparotto
Onion Creek Ranch 1-15-11