Letter to the Editor

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the letter from Dr. Strain regarding our recent publication “Seizure disorders in goats and sheep”. We thank Dr. Strain for his insightful comments regarding our article. In his letter, Dr. Strain correctly pointed out the following statement in the abstract: “Currently, no reports describing seizures in goats and sheep are available.” Dr. Strain provided a reference of a case report of partial epilepsy in a goat. We thank Dr. Strain for providing the reference, and we agree with him that we overlooked the reference he provided. Dr. Strain also was concerned with another statement we included in the abstract: “Goats and sheep are more likely to be presented for examination for seizures than are cattle.” He also provided a reference of a case report of primary generalized epilepsy in a cow. However, the statement Dr. Strain provided in his letter is only part of the full statement. We would like to respectfully refer Dr. Strain to the full statement in the abstract which states that: “Goats and sheep are more likely to be presented for examination for seizures than are cattle, possibly as a consequence of their relatively smaller body size”. The last part of the statement emphasizes that in clinical practice, owners are more likely to transport goats and sheep for clinical examination by veterinarians because they can be safely restrained during or after seizuring compared to cattle, due to their relatively smaller size. We respectfully argue that this statement should remain as it is, due to its important practical clinical relevance. It is also important to note that a recent retrospective study describing seizures in cattle has been published.