Johne's disease in alpacas (Lama pacos) in Australia |
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| Authors: | SE RIDGE JT HARKIN† ‡ RT BADMAN† AM MELLOR§ JWA LARSEN¶ |
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| Institution: | *Victorian Institute of Animal Science, Department of Agriculture, 475 Mickleham Road, Attwood, Victoria 3049;?Bendigo Agriculture Centre, Department of Agriculture, PO Box 2500, Bendigo Mail Centre, Victoria 3554;§102A High Street, Kangaroo Flat, Victoria 3555;¶Department of Agriculture, State Public Offices, Corner Mair and Doveton Streets, Ballarat, Victoria 3350 |
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| Abstract: | SUMMARY: Johne's disease was diagnosed in 10 alpacas ( Lama pacos ) in Australia between February 1993 and May 1994. Eight of the animals were between 12 and 24 months of age, one was a 6-year-old female, and one was a 4-year-old male. Five, including the 6-year-old and the 4-year-old alpacas, showed weight loss and diarrhoea before death or slaughter. The other cases showed no clinical signs of Johne's disease but 4 gave a positive result on faecal culture and one gave a positive result on testing with the caprine ACID assay and had acid-fast organisms in its faeces. At necropsy, all cases had grossly enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes. Johne's disease was diagnosed after histological examination of the lymph nodes with conventional culture and polymerase chain reaction testing of tissue samples. This report outlines the clinical, epidemiological, and pathological findings in these cases. |
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