Mid-Atlantic Alpaca Association (MaPaca) Teams up with the Alpaca Research Foundation (ARF) to Support Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVDV) Research
Recent concerns about cases of BVDV in alpacas have been fueled by reports of several confirmed cases of persistently infected (PI) alpacas all across the United States and in Canada. (See the BVDV census on the ARF website). ARF has worked quickly to solicit research proposals designed to determine the prevalence of this virus in North American alpaca herds. The following two complementary proposals have now been approved for funding with a November 1, 2005 start date. We are very happy to report that the Board of Directors of MaPaca has agreed to fully fund the second of the two studies. ARF will fund the first.
1. An Epidemiologic Assessment of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Infection inUS Alpacas, to be conducted by En-Min (Eric) Zhou, MD, PhD and Julie Ann Jarvinen, PhD, DVM at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. 11/1/05-6/30/07,$17,600. The major goal of this study is to test the blood from 200
randomly selected alpaca herds across the US for virus neutralizing antibodies against two types of BVDV to determine how commonly and frequently alpacas are infected with BVDV. In this study, only alpacas older than 6 months will be tested.The investigators will also look for a relationship between potential risk factors such as exposure to cattle or participation in shows and the presence of antibody.
2. Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus in North American Alpaca Herds: Determination of and Implementation of Control Strategies, to be conducted byClayton L. Kelling, DVM, PhD, David R. Smith, DVM, PhD, David J. Steffe,DVM, PhD and Bruce W. Brodersen, DVM, PhD of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, 11/1/05-10/31/06, $20,500.The major goal of this study is to determine the proportion of North American alpaca herds that are infected with BVDV by testing for the live virus as well as antibodies to the virus in crias under the age of 6 months. Participation of 200 herds will be needed to complete the study. If the virus is found to be active in a herd, further testing will be conducted to determine whether persistently infected carriers of the virus are present in the herd. In addition, the investigators will develop and help implement a plan for eliminating carrier animals and establishing BVDV-free herd status. Cost effective monitoring strategies will be developed whereby owners can certify their herds as BVDV-free.
Clayton Kelling and his research team at Nebraska have been at the forefront of developing testing and monitoring procedures for the control of BVDV in cattle and dairy herds. We are fortunate that they are willing to apply their expertise to this important problem in alpacas.
Completion of these studies will require cooperation from hundreds of alpaca owners across North America. All testing will be confidential. Only the herd owner will be notified of the results. If you are contacted and asked to supply blood samples from some of your alpacas, please plan to participate. By joining a study you will receive valuable, free information about the BVDV status of your herd and advice on how to achieve and maintain your herd's BVDV-free status. So take the first step. Join a study and get tested now! You will be helping all alpaca owners, including yourself, by agreeing to participate. To find out more about BVDV go to the ARF website at www.alpacaresearchfoundation.org .