Animal Health

The agricultural industry in the United States contributes about 13% to the gross annual domestic product.1 The United States Department of Agriculture reported that the cash receipts for livestock, poultry, and crops for 1996 exceeded 200 billion dollars.2 Over the last 3 decades, improved agricultural technology, farm efficiency and practices has benefited Americans; an average American paid about 11 cents per dollar of disposable income on food in 1996, as compared to about 14 cents per dollar in 1970. The cost of food is lowest in the United States as compared to the rest of the world.2,3 The recent terrorist attack on United States has raised serious concerns on the vulnerability of plant and animal agriculture in the United States. The deliberate introduction of a pathogen (fungus, bacterium, virus, or insect pest) into U.S. livestock, poultry, or crops could cause a disease outbreak. The outcome of an outbreak could be devastating, resulting in loss of livestock, disruption of animal agriculture industry and decreased food production. This would drive food prices up, halt valuable exports, and ultimately cost taxpayers billions of dollars in lost revenue and industry renewal costs. more »

Recently, the red blood cell parasite Eperythrozoon (commonly know as “Epe”) was renamed Mycoplasma haemolamae based on the results of genetic studies done on the organism. This change in name is just that, a name change; it does not reflect any change in our understanding of the biology of this organism and the disease it causes. If you have had to deal with Epe in your alpacas, you know that we in the veterinary profession still have a great deal to learn about this organism, but this article will summarize what we currently do understand. more »

An Eperythrozoon is a little bacterium that affects the red blood cells. It actually sits on the red blood cells and the immune system sees that as a problem and figures it has to take out the red blood cells and destroy them. It can lead to severe anemia or mild or moderate anemia, particularly in animals that are stressed or immune-compromised. I don't want to give the impression that this disease is killing alpacas right and left. The organism probably does not kill animals — at least by itself. We see it more often as a complicating factor in other diseases, and in that sense, it's worth figuring out more about it and how to prevent it.” more »