ABSTRACT
Caseous lymphadenitis (CLA), an infectious disease caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis in goats and sheep, is highly prevalent worldwide and is characterized by economic losses in small ruminant production. Currently available techniques for clinical and laboratory diagnosis of the disease lack market availability and/or sensitivity, and therefore, infected animals can remain in the herd, serving as a source of infection for other animals. The present study aimed to verify hematological and clinical biochemistry changes in goats naturally infected by C. pseudotuberculosis. One hundred seventy-three Canindé goats were included in this study, from which blood samples and caseous lesions were collected. The animals were classified as uninfected, asymptomatic, and symptomatic according to microbiological isolation and serological assays. A high dissemination of the infection was observed in the herd, with 86.13% of positive animals, being 74.57% asymptomatic and 11.56% symptomatic. In the hemogram and clinical biochemistry analyses, the only statistical difference found was a higher level of serum urea in asymptomatic individuals than in non-infected animals. In addition, this study points to the possibility of chronic CLA being potentially reflected in hepatic and renal biochemical markers.