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.”
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