A retrospective study of hepatic abscesses in goats: Pathological and microbiological findings

Post-mortem examination of 658 goats showed that 17 (2·5%) exhibited hepatic abscesses. The following bacteria were isolated: Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (58·9%), Eschenchia coli (11·8%), Corynebacterium sp. (11·8%), Pasteurella haemolytica (5·9%), Proteus sp. (5·9%) and Staphylococcus aureus (5·9%). Hepatic abscesses occurred more frequently in adult animals. Eleven of the 17 goats (64·7%) were older than 12 months of age. Four goats (23·5%) were 12 months of age and only two (11·8%) were less than 1 year of age. All of the goats with hepatic abscesses were in poor nutritional condition and the abscesses were invariably associated with accompanying pathological disorders at other body sites.