Background: Outbreak of bluetongue virus serotype-8 (BTV-8) infection in domestic ruminants in Northern Europe. Objective: To investigate the South American camelids’ (SAC) susceptibility to BTV-8 infection, their role in the epidemiology of the disease, and the use of currently available serological screening tests in SAC in an endemic region. Animals: Three hundred and fifty-four unvaccinated...

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) remains the most important animal disease. The FMD virus is highly contagious and occurs almost exclusively among cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, Bactrian camels and swine. Old World camels (OWCs) and New World camels (NWCs) inhabit FMD-endemic countries in South America, North and East Africa, and the Middle and Far East. Results of experimental...

Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) plays an important role in tumorigenesis. Camelids produce functional antibodies composed of heavy chains only that bind to their antigens via a single domain variable fragment known as nanobody. Nanobodies show multiple advantages over traditional monoclonal antibodies. Isolation anti-EpCAM nanobodies (Nbs) was the main aim this study. An immune nanobo...

Dicrocoelium dendriticum plays an important role in New World Camelids as infected animals may suffer from severe clinical symptoms even leading to death of the animals. Intra vitam diagnosis may be difficult as clinical signs are atypical and Dicrocoelium eggs are shed only intermittently in faeces. The aim of this paper is to present four clinical cases of dicrocoeliosis in lamas as well as t...

We describe the vasculature of the camelid testis using plastic casting. We also use color pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasonography to measure testicular blood flow and compare the differences between testicular blood flow in fertile and infertile camelids. The testicular artery originates from the ventral surface of the aorta, gives rise to an epididymal branch, and becomes very tortuous as it appr...

A typical immunoglobulin (Ig) molecule is composed of four polypeptide chains: two identical heavy (H) chains and two identical light (L) chains. This tetrameric structure is conserved in almost all jawed vertebrate species. However, it has been discovered that camels and llamas (family: Camelidae) possess a type of dimeric Ig that consists of two H chains only. These H chains do not associate ...

This paper reviews genetics of fibre production and fleece characteristics in small ruminants, Angora rabbit and South American camelids with a special distinction between single-coated (SC) and double-coated (DC) species. Considering the biology of fibre production, there are variations in coat composition and structure, fibre growth pattern and fibre structure and quality between these two ma...