Alpaca Health in Australia

Alpacas in Australia are vaccinated against clostridial diseases using the same 5-in-1 or 6-in-1 products registered for sheep and cattle. These vaccines protect against the major clostridial diseases including pulpy kidney (enterotoxaemia), tetanus, blackleg, malignant oedema, and black disease. Clostridial disease can kill rapidly and without obvious prior warning — vaccination is one of the most cost-effective health interventions available to alpaca keepers.

The standard Australian alpaca vaccination protocol: two initial doses four to six weeks apart for unvaccinated animals, then annual boosters. Pregnant females should receive a booster four to six weeks before their due date — this loads colostrum with protective antibodies that transfer to the cria at birth. Cria from vaccinated dams should receive their first dose at eight to ten weeks of age and a booster four weeks later.

There is no registered alpaca-specific vaccine for Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) in Australia, but BVD is a significant disease risk in alpacas in contact with cattle. BVD causes reproductive failure, immunosuppression, and poor cria viability. Any property running cattle and alpacas together should discuss BVD management with their veterinarian, including potential vaccination with cattle BVD vaccines (used off-label) and regular blood testing of all introduced animals. BVD testing is particularly important for all new male (stud) animals before introduction to a herd.

Internal parasites — primarily gastrointestinal nematodes — are the leading cause of preventable death and production loss in Australian alpacas. The parasite complex affecting alpacas is similar to that in sheep and goats, with Haemonchus contortus (barber's pole worm) the dominant threat in subtropical and warm temperate regions, and Trichostrongylus and Ostertagia species more significant in cooler southern areas.

Anthelmintic (drench) resistance is a growing and serious problem in the Australian alpaca industry, as it is in sheep and goats. Products that were reliable ten to fifteen years ago show reduced efficacy on many properties, particularly macrocyclic lactones (ivermectin and abamectin) and benzimidazoles (white drenches). The primary driver of resistance development is the same in alpacas as in other species: frequent, underdosed, whole-mob treatment. Every time you treat an animal, you select for whatever worms survived — and those survivors pass on their resistance genes.

The evidence-based alternative is targeted selective treatment (TST): treat only animals that need treatment, dose accurately based on bodyweight, rotate between drench classes, and monitor efficacy with post-drench faecal egg count reductions. FAMACHA scoring (assessing the inner eyelid colour for anaemia) is the most widely used TST tool and is effective for identifying animals with significant barber's pole worm burdens. To use FAMACHA, you need to be trained — courses are available through most state alpaca associations and agricultural extension services.

Faecal egg counts (FECs) are the foundation of a rational drench program. A fresh pooled sample from your herd, or individual samples from animals that appear unwell, run through a McMaster float gives you a worm burden estimate in eggs per gram (EPG). Broad guidance: under 200 EPG is low risk; 200–500 EPG warrants monitoring; above 500 EPG in animals showing clinical signs warrants treatment. These thresholds must be applied in context — an animal with 300 EPG that is losing condition, pale, or in late pregnancy may need treatment; a healthy animal at 400 EPG in autumn may not. Your veterinarian or local animal health officer can help you develop a property-specific decision framework.

Hyperthermia (heat stress) is the leading acute emergency in Australian alpacas during summer. Signs include rapid open-mouth breathing, prostration, stumbling, and collapse. Treatment: move the animal to shade immediately, apply cool (not ice cold) water liberally to the belly, inner thighs, and neck where blood vessels are close to the surface; provide a fan if available; and contact your veterinarian immediately for severe cases. Heat-stressed animals that do not show rapid improvement with initial first aid require intravenous fluid therapy. Do not leave any suspected heat stress case unattended while awaiting veterinary response.

Neonatal hypothermia in cria is a particular risk in southern Australia during cold, wet spring nights. A cria born during or after rain in a southerly change that does not nurse immediately is at serious risk. Signs: shivering, lethargy, cold limbs, failure to respond to the dam. Treatment: warm the cria rapidly using dry towels, a heat lamp, or placing against your body; tube-feed warmed colostrum or glucose solution; call your vet if the cria does not respond within thirty minutes of warming.

Pregnancy toxaemia (hypoglycaemia) occurs in late-pregnant females, particularly those carrying large cria or in poor body condition, when energy demands of late pregnancy exceed dietary intake. Signs: lethargy, teeth grinding, unwillingness to eat, unsteady gait. Treatment: oral propylene glycol or glucose supplementation, veterinary assessment, and correction of the underlying nutritional problem. Prevention is far more effective than treatment: maintain adequate body condition throughout pregnancy and increase energy intake in the final six weeks before birth.

Johne's disease (paratuberculosis) affects alpacas and can cause significant production losses in affected herds. Signs: chronic weight loss despite good appetite, bottle jaw (submandibular oedema), loose manure. There is no cure, and affected animals should be removed from the herd. The disease spreads via faecal contamination of pasture, water, and feed. Biosecurity — particularly careful sourcing of new animals and testing before introduction — is the primary control strategy in Australia.

Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) can enter an alpaca herd from infected cattle or from persistently infected (PI) alpacas. BVD in alpacas causes reproductive failure, poor cria viability, and immunosuppression. Testing all introduced animals, particularly stud males, for PI status is strongly recommended for any property where BVD risk exists. PI animals should be removed from the herd.

Biosecurity — the set of practices that prevent disease introduction to your herd — is particularly important for alpaca producers because of the disease risks associated with introduced animals and shared equipment. A single persistently infected BVD animal or a Johne's-positive purchase can devastate a herd's health and productivity over years.

The fundamental biosecurity principle is: every animal introduced to your property is a disease risk until proven otherwise. This applies equally to stud males, purchased females, animals returning from shows, and even animals that have been off-property briefly for veterinary treatment.

A practical quarantine protocol for new arrivals: isolate from your existing herd for a minimum of four weeks in a separate paddock with no fence-line contact; perform a full health check including BVD blood test, faecal egg count, body condition scoring, and physical examination; vaccinate if vaccination history is unknown; treat for internal parasites with an appropriate drench protocol; observe daily for any signs of illness before releasing to the main herd.

Do not share halters, toenail trimmers, drenching guns, or other equipment between properties without disinfecting. Johne's disease organisms are particularly resistant to disinfectants — heat sterilisation or dedicated single-property equipment is the safest approach for any equipment that contacts faeces.

Alpacas are stoic animals that often mask illness until they are significantly compromised. By the time an alpaca is showing obvious clinical signs — refusing to eat, unable to rise, open-mouth breathing, severe lameness — the disease process is typically well advanced. This means that early, subtle signs must be acted on promptly rather than "watched for a day or two."

Call your veterinarian immediately for: any animal that cannot rise or is down and unresponsive; any animal showing open-mouth breathing; any cria that has not nursed within two hours of birth or is cold and unresponsive; any animal with a temperature above 40°C or below 36°C; any animal with acute bloat (distended left flank, distress); any suspected dystocia (difficult birth with straining for more than one hour); and any significant injury or suspected fracture.

Call your veterinarian within the same day for: an animal that has not eaten for 24 hours; an animal with persistent loose droppings and declining condition; any animal with pale inner eyelids (FAMACHA score 4 or 5); any sudden onset of lameness; any eye discharge or cloudiness; any lump or swelling that has appeared rapidly; and any cria that is losing weight over two consecutive weekly weigh-ins.

Establish a relationship with a veterinarian experienced in camelid medicine before you need one urgently. Not all small animal or general large animal vets have specific alpaca experience — the Alpaca Association of Australasia maintains a list of camelid-experienced vets, and it is worth identifying your nearest one when you first acquire animals rather than during an emergency.