The Alpaca Library Catalogue

Malignant round cell neoplasia was identified in 12 llamas and 12 alpacas aged 0–23 years. Mean age of affected alpacas (3.1 years) was significantly less than that of affected llamas (8.0 years). Tumor cell morphology varied from large and often pleomorphic (11 tumors) to small and often homogeneous (13 tumors). Neoplastic lesions were multicentric in 12 cases. Other sites were gastric (5 cases), intra-abdominal (perirenal; 4 cases), intrathoracic (2 cases), and cervical (1 case). Immunohistochemistry with antibodies to CD79α, BLA36, and CD3 identified B-cell lymphoma (12 cases) and T-cell lymphoma (6 cases). Six tumors did not express any lymphoid marker and were further immunostained for neuron-specific enolase (NSE), synaptophysin, S-100, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and chromogranin A. All 6 of these tumors were negative for GFAP and chromogranin A but expressed 1 or more of the neural markers NSE, synaptophysin, and S-100 and were classified as primitive malignant round cell tumors (PMRCT). Tumor types could not be distinguished on the basis of animal age, gross pathologic appearance, tumor morphology, or tumor location. All animals with lymphoma and 5 with PMRCT died or were euthanatized. One alpaca with a focal cervical PMRCT lived for at least 20 months after diagnosis. Results of this study indicate that malignant round cell tumors in llamas and alpacas are a heterogeneous group that cannot be distinguished on the basis of signalment, postmortem findings, or routine light microscopic findings. Immunohistochemistry is a valuable diagnostic procedure when evaluating malignant round cell neoplasia in llamas and alpacas. more »

These unique animals have become more popular in the last several decades and their monetary value has been high. Meanwhile their owners have struggled to find veterinarians with sufficient knowledge of camelid medical problems. more »

The release in October 2014 of the new ‘Barbervax’ vaccine against barber’s pole worm gives the sheep industries a new weapon in the fight against an old foe. This provides a major alternative to drench-based control, and will help manage drench resistance. After many years of research in Scotland by the Moredun Research Institute, and recent collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Food in Western Australia, the world’s first sheep worm vaccine, and the first vaccine for a gut dwelling worm parasite of livestock, has been produced. more »

A group of Corowa farmers who have rehabilitated ‘paper laneways’ on their farms say it is a win-win situation for landholders, the government and the environment. The Restore and Rehabilitate Priority Paper Laneways in the Corowa Shire project focused on turning paper laneways, which are old road reserves owned by Crown Lands, into corridors dedicated towards rehabilitating native vegetation, and according to NSW Farmers president Derek Schoen, it has been a complete success. more »

Domestic animals are excellent biological models widely used in developmental biology, phenotypic evolution, and medical research studies. They have been developed as different breeds exhibiting remarkable differences in morphology, physiology, behavior, and adaptations. more »