[Retrospective analysis of necropsy findings in South American camelids in Germany with regard to the optimization of veterinary management].

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate pathological findings in New World camels (NWC) with regard to possible effects on veterinary management.As part of this retrospective study, 598 necropsy findings of 70 llamas and 521 alpacas from the years 2019-2023 were analysed, 7 findings were classified as New World camelids. The findings were provided anonymously by 13 pathological examination institutes in Germany.Of the animals examined, 35.7% were found to be in a cachectic nutritional status, and in 27.4%, nutritional status was labelled as poor or moderate.Pathological findings in the gastrointestinal tract were most frequent, being observed in 49.5% of the animals. Of these cases, 59.8% showed enteritis, 33.1% gastritis and 22.6% gastric ulceration. Endoparasite infestation was the second most common finding (44.7%). Statistical analysis showed that alpacas were significantly more likely to have poor nutritional status than llamas (p<0.05). The presence of dental abnormalities (p<0.01) or inflammation in the oral area (p=0,01) had a significant effect on the nutritional status. The presence of endoparasite infestation also exerted a significant influence (p=0.001). In the current study, llamas exhibited enteritis more frequently than alpacas and adult and geriatric animals were more frequently affected than younger animals (juvenile, neonate, foetus) (p<0.05). A significant correlation was found between the occurrence of ulceration and the presence of skin lesions (p<0.05).The study shows that a variety of diseases may be the cause of death in llamas and alpacas. The challenges in the areas of parasite management, dental health and nutritional status should be emphasised. These could be mitigated by proper veterinary health monitoring as part of herd management.