Objective: The number of South American Camelids (New World Camelids) housed in Germany has increased in the recent years. While these species were formerly kept solely in zoological gardens, ever more private and commercial livestock is being established. Compared to indigenous livestock animals, they bear some distinctive differences, particularly in terms of digestive tract anatomy and physiology. Therefore, it is of considerable interest for veterinarians working with South American Camelids to obtain knowledge about the distinguishing features of these animals and the typical diseases affecting them in Germany.
Material and methods: For this purpose, the necropsy reports, including the anamnestic data, and their diagnostic usefulness, from 1995 to 2012 were studied retrospectively.
Results: Du- ring this period, a total of 233 New World Camelids were examined (195 alpacas and 38 llamas). Anamnestic data of diagnostic usefulness regarding the cause of disease were only submitted in a limited number of cases, because most of the animals died without specific symptoms. The following were the most frequent pathological findings: enteritis (n = 91), gastritis (n = 76), cachexia (n = 73), pneumonia (n = 30), stomatitis (n = 27), azotaemia (n = 22) and anaemia (n = 9). An endoparasitosis occurred in 107 cases and was considered the predominant cause of enteritis.
Conclusion: As with indigenous ruminants, llamas and alpacas primarily suffered from diseases of the digestive and respiratory tracts. Other organ systems were affected to a lesser extent.
Clinical relevance: Even in cases with severe alterations in the affected organs, South American Camelids do not show or show too late diagnostically indicative clinical symptoms. Therefore, a detailed clinical examination of these animals is important.
Keywords: Alpaca; congenital; digestive tract; disease; infection; llama; lung; parasites.