Lepto strain found in alpaca
Aleptospirosis strain has been found in New Zealand alpaca for the first time. The disease is a known dairy cow complaint, which is sometimes passed on to dairy and abattoir workers.
New findings that alpacas are also vulnerable to the disease were revealed at the International Leptospirosis Society Conference.at Palmerston North. In humans it can appear as a minor flu-like sickness, but may put some people in intensive care at hospital with lasting kidney or liver damage.
Massey University member of the Leptospirosis Research Group, Dr Julie Collins-emerson, said it was a surprise to researchers that a veterinarian testing a dog clear for the disease, found it in alpacas at a neighbouring property.
She said leptospirosis was confirmed in a breeding alpaca herd in Manawatu¯ .
Two young alpacas died from the disease and 12 other pregnant alpacas aborted.
Researchers believe only a few cases exist in South America of alpacas found with leptospirosis.
Massey leptospirosis researcher, Associate Professor Jackie Benschop said people were often in close contact with alpacas because they liked to get close to them because of their appearance and they were often on lifestyle properties, with other livestock.
She said any mammal could get the disease, including rats, pigs as well as dairy cows.
Collins-emerson said there was growing concern about the impact of the disease, which is zoonotic, which means it could cross over to humans.
She said most dairy cows were vaccinated, but there was a strain of the disease, common in New Zealand, which was outside the vaccination range.
She said dairy workers were more likely to be infected because dairy cows were handled twice a day. The disease is usually passed to humans from the urine of infected animals.
Collins-emerson said beef cattle and sheep could have the disease, but because they did not come into contact with humans as often, it was rarely passed on and because leptospirosis had little impact on the animals, it often went unnoticed.
She said they were seeing more leptospirosis cases in New Zealand.
‘‘Although people have been vaccinating animals, it looks like a strain of the disease is prevalent, that is not covered by the vaccine for dairy animals.’’
She said researchers were keen to investigate the strain at Massey University, and would need to know more before a vaccine might be able to be produced.
‘‘First of all we’d have to find animals that were shedding that strain, and analyse the data.’’
Collins-emerson said farmers were more aware of leptospirosis.
‘‘We had a forum in March and released the information. The industry is keen to hear the results of our analysis.’’
She said there has been concern that there are more mixed farms, with deer, cattle and sheep and as a result there was more interspecies infection.
Collins-emerson said leptospirosis was a dynamic disease and complacency ‘‘is the enemy’’.
‘‘Population growth and increased interface between urban, rural and wildlife habitats, altered farm practices, climate and environment change are all contributing to the evolving epidemiology of leptospirosis.’’