Parsons, Sven David CharlesHobson, M.Wepener, MelanieMtetwa, T.Hooijberg, Emma HenrietteClift, Sarah Jane2026-02-122026-02-122025-10Parsons, S.D.C., Hobson, M., Wepener, M., et al. 2025, 'Swelling disease of Angora goats is characterised by panhypoproteinaemia, leukocytosis, and hyperaldosteronaemia', Journal of the South African Veterinary Association, vol. 96, no. 1, pp. 88-93. https://doi.org/10.36303/JSAVA.718.2224-9435 (print)1019-9128 (online)10.36303/JSAVA.718http://hdl.handle.net/2263/108100BACKGROUND : Swelling disease is a poorly understood clinical syndrome of South African Angora goats that is characterised by acute-onset diffuse oedema. Adrenocorticotropic hormone-stimulated aldosterone secretion has been proposed as a possible aetiology of swelling disease, but this hypothesis has not been tested. OBJECTIVES : To investigate aldosterone secretion in swelling disease by reanalysing data collected during a 2015 clinical investigation of the syndrome in which serum aldosterone and cortisol levels were measured along with standard clinical laboratory variables in affected and unaffected animals. METHODS : Goats affected with swelling disease, and unaffected herd-mates, were sampled for measurement of haematology variables, serum protein variables, and serum sodium, aldosterone, and cortisol. Results for affected and unaffected goats were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test, and the association between variables was investigated using Spearman’s rank-order correlation analysis. RESULTS : Goats affected with swelling disease had significantly higher white blood cell counts (WBC) and serum aldosterone than unaffected animals, and significantly lower total serum protein (TSP), albumin, globulin, and albumin/globulin ratios. For all animals (n = 60), serum protein variables showed a significant and strong positive correlation with one another, and a negative correlation with serum aldosterone and WBC. CONCLUSION : Swelling disease of South African Angora goats is characterised by panhypoproteinaemia, a low A/G ratio, leukocytosis, and hyperaldosteronaemia. Causal relationships between variables could not be determined, however, the detection of hyperaldosteronaemia provides novel insight into the possible pathophysiological mechanisms of this syndrome.en© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND).AldosteroneAngora goatOedemaSwelling diseaseWhite blood cell count (WBC)PanhypoproteinaemiaHyperaldosteronaemiaLeukocytosisArticle