ABSTRACT
The normal respiratory rate is 15–30 bpm in adults and 20–40 bpm in kids, with a moderate abdominal effort to respiration. The laryngeal infection is often complicated by local oedema, which is self-perpetuating by forced respiratory movements. A variety of gases or fumes can cause an inflammatory response in the respiratory tract. Snake bites commonly lead to pyrexia, tachypnoea and respiratory distress. Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia affects the respiratory tract and is extremely contagious and frequently fatal. Some experimentally infected goats develop fever as soon as 3 days after inoculation and respiratory signs as early as 5 days, but others do not become ill until up to 41 days after exposure. Both organisms are commensal in the upper respiratory tract of many goats, with disease occurring following invasion of lung tissue. For infectious causes, prolonged antibiosis is used, possibly combined with iodides where actinobacillosis is suspected. Acute infectious pneumonia is the main differential diagnosis.
