White Muscle Disease
Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy in Goats
Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy, usually known as White Muscle Disease when present in immature animals, is a common illness in goat kids between two to four months old. This disease, although common, is very serious. It is often fatal, and many times affected kids will never thrive, even after treatment. However, this condition is very easy to avoid.
Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy is caused by Selenium and Vitamin E deficiency. While these two substances are very important in the overall health of livestock, they are also very poisonous. Extreme caution must be used in administration of these supplements. The bottle labels should always be throughly read, and the recommended dosage must be followed exactly.
Selenium is a trace mineral obtained from fresh, good quality green hay or fresh pasture grass. Susan Schoenian at the University of Maryland writes that deficiency occurs when the soil levels are below 0.5 mg of Selenium per kg of soil, and when the feed contains less than 0.1 mg of Selenium per kg of feed (Schoenian, Maryland Cooperative Extension website). Unfortunately, several areas of the world, including North America, Europe, the United Kingdom and Australia, have Selenium deficient soil. The eastern half and north western area of the United States is very deficient in Selenium content. Goat breeders in these areas should purchase Selenium and Vitamin E supplements and have them on hand at all times
According to the Office of Dietary Supplements, Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin and a biological antioxidant (Office of Dietary Supplements website). This vitamin is found in legumes and green forage. It has a higher concentration in fresh feeds; the concentration in raw legumes or fresh grass is higher than that in roasted legumes or hay. Sheep and Goat Medicine, a book by Dr. David Pugh, shows that when feed is stored for a long period of time, the concentration of Vitamin E decreases at a rate of up to 50% a month (Pugh, pg.247). The concentration of Vitamin E in feeds is usually directly related to the fat content in the feed. Therefore, feeds high in fat will usually be high in Vitamin E as well. (Blaiser, Cattle Today Online website)
Selenium and Vitamin E are passed though the dam’s placenta to the kid. If the dam is deficient, the kid will be deficient as well. Unfortunately, goat breeders usually breed their does in the fall to kid in the late winter or early spring. In the northern United States, pregnant does spend most of the winter in a barn. They have no fresh forage, and they are often fed first cutting hay to ‘keep them warm without making them fat’. First cutting hay is very low in nutrients, however, and it has usually been stored all summer. Long-term storage cures out the few vitamins it contained in the first place. Most pregnant does, then, are not getting nearly enough Selenium and Vitamin E. They, in turn, cannot give their kids nearly enough of these essential nutrients. As previously stated, when goats are deficient in Selenium and Vitamin E, they often contract Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy.
White Muscle Disease in kids manifests itself in one of two forms: mild and acute. Kids with the milder form of this disease will show bilateral stiffness in the girdle muscles, hind legs, and/or loins. Affected kids will be weak and will often collapse after exercise or physical exertion. Trembling is also another symptom. In the acute form of this disease, kids are found dead without having previously shown symptoms. An autopsy, however, would show pale, dry, and chalky muscle fibers. The affected muscles show a bilateral white streaking pattern, hence the name “White Muscle Disease”.
Although Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy usually manifests itself in quickly-growing kids, it also can be present in mature goats. Mature goats will not be able to reproduce well. They will not have a thrifty appearance. In chronic cases, the toes of the animal will be splayed, and the muscles in the shoulder area will be relaxed. Affected does will often have retained placenta and “poor involution of the uterus”(Guss, pg. 76). Milking does with Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy are also predisposed to mastitis. Finally, affected animals will have a weakened immune system, predisposing them to many other diseases.
In his book, Sheep and Goat Medicine, Dr. David Pugh states, “Muscles with high metabolic activity are most susceptible (e.g., heart, diaphragm)”(Pugh, pg. 247). When the heart is affected, pneumonia-like symptoms including difficult breathing, frothy nasal discharge that may or may not be bloody, and fever are present. Animals will appear recumbent and will have an arched back. Diarrhea may be present as well (Merck Veterinary Manual, pg. 949). When the tongue is affected, chances of survival are low as the affected animal will soon die of starvation.
Treatment of Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy is quite simple, consisting mostly of comfort care. At the onset of visible symptoms, the animal should be given one dose of Vitamin E/Selenium supplement, which comes in both oral gels and injections. This dosage can be repeated in 24 hours if necessary; however, treatment should not exceed two doses. During this time, the goat must be kept calm and in a stress-free area. It should be kept as comfortable as the circumstances allow, and it should not be forced to exercise or move about unnecessarily. The animal should begin to improve soon after receiving the Vitamin E/Selenium supplement and should be better in less than a week if the disease was caught in the early stages. However, if the disease has spread to the heart and other internal organs, treatment often does not help; even if the animal survives it probably will never thrive.
Prevention is always better than any treatment, and White Muscle Disease is incredibly easy to prevent. First and foremost, goat breeders must be aware of the Selenium concentration in their area. If they breed in and get their feed from a deficient area, they should use a supplement. Pregnant does should be injected with a Selenium/Vitamin E supplement thirty to fifteen days before their due date. Kids should be injected with a supplement between three and four weeks of age. Fresh pasture should be available as much as possible and good-quality green hay should be fed. Legumes should also be part of goats’ healthy, varied diet. Feed should not be stored any longer than absolutely necessary. It is much better to get feed in smaller quantities at more frequent intervals.
Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy is a serious disease, but it doesn’t have to affect goat herds today. Breeders should know both how to prevent this disease and how to treat it in case they have an animal affected by it. After all, although it is a common and often fatal illness, Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy is very easy to avoid.
Sources cited: Dr. David G. Pugh. Sheep and Goat Medicine. 1st edition. Saunders, 2002
Peter Dunn. The Goatkeeper’s Veterinary Book. 3rd edition Old Pond Publishing, 1984
Dr. Samuel Guss. Management and Diseases of Dairy Goats. 1st edition. Dairy Goat Journal Publishing Corporation, 1977
Editor Cynthia M. Khan. The Merck Veterinary Manual. 9th edition. Merck and Co., INC., 2005
Dr. Stephen B. Blaiser. Cattle Today Online website