Haemonchosis

If you have an alpaca with the symptoms of Haemonchosis (anaemia, weight loss, lethargy, weakness, bottle jaw), you probably don’t have a lot of time on your hands. When we find an alpaca with these symptoms, our first diagnosis is Haemonchosis and we start treating accordingly while we are waiting for the vet to attend. If your plan is for your vet to come and take a fecal sample, then send it to the lab, then wait for results, you may very well have a dead alpaca on your hands by the time the results are back. We feel that you should start treatment right away and assume that the diagnosis (based on the symptoms mentioned) is Haemonchosis. None of the treatments will do any harm, although you would probably hold off on the blood transfusion until you are more certain as to the problem. With a little luck on your side, your alpaca may be well on the road to recovery by the time the results come back from the lab. Another option, of course, would be to do your own fecal egg count before starting any treatment.

The following is a list of treatments that we would use when we suspect Haemonchosis:

• Anthelmintic treatment. Before doing anything else, it pays to start the process of killing the parasites that have caused the problem. Giving a blood transfusion before the worm burden has been at least reduced, for instance, will probably be a waste of time. In an emergency situation such as this, we use Genesis Ultra (sheep oral drench). We have found it to be very effective with a 100% kill rate within 24 hours. In order to reduce the likelihood of Haemonchus contortus becoming resistant to it, we don’t use Genesis Ultra as our routine anthelmintic. We save it for emergency treatments. In the States, you would probably use Moxidectin as your emergency drench, after carefully calculating the correct dose. The safety factor for Moxidectin is quite low, compared to other drenches, and care needs to be taken to avoid overdosing. Moxidectin is also available in New Zealand under the brand name Vetdectin. In our “early days”, we used Dectomax to treat an alpaca with Haemonchosis. Dectomax may be good for preventing Haemonchosis, but we are of the opinion that it simply takes too long (ten days) to get even close to a 100% kill rate for an alpaca that already has Haemonchosis.
• B1/B12 injection. We give 1.0mL of DuoJect per 20kg live weight, twice a day. One mL of DuoJect contains 100mg of Thiamine (B1) and 1000mcg of Cyanocobalamin (B12). If you don’t have this on hand or you aren’t able to give injections yourself, then mash up two or three B-complex tablets with approximately 10 to 20mL of yoghurt and slowly squirt it into the alpaca’s mouth using a needle-less syringe. We always have Healtheries B Complex Supreme on hand for such emergencies. The “B” vitamins are water-soluble and, as such, any excess is simply excreted in the urine.
• TecTonic. This is a liquid containing vitamins and minerals important for metabolism and stimulants to improve vigour and appetite in sick or debilitated animals. We use 1.0mL per 5kg live weight. Ketol may be even better, especially if the alpaca isn’t eating sufficient quantities of forage. If the affected alpaca is eating reasonable quantities of grass and/or hay, we would use TecTonic. If not, we would use Ketol. Another product that may be worth investigating is called Vigest.
• Blud. Blud is a haematinic (blood builder), primarily used for increasing oxygen utilisation in racehorses and greyhounds. It contains readily absorbable iron complex along with essential B vitamins. This increases the blood haemoglobin and red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body. Blud replaces folate, vitamin and protein factors that are deficient when an animal is stressed or anemic. We mix about a teaspoon of Blud with 10 to 20mL of yoghurt, once or twice per day. Another product, supposedly similar to Blud, is called Haemo 15, but we haven’t tried it.
• Iron tablets. We give one or two human iron tablets, mashed up in yoghurt. We use Healtheries Iron & Vitamin C. If our vet attends, he would inject iron dextrin instead of administering iron tablets. He’s not convinced that iron tablets are effective with alpacas. Vitamin C, by the way, assists with the uptake of iron. Another product worth considering is called Ironcyclen.
• Antibiotics. We use Intracillin, three to five days in a row. It’s important that you always give probiotics or yoghurt with antibiotics, to prevent damage to the delicate intestinal flora balance.
• Ulcer treatment. Alpacas, under stress, and with the change of diet that occurs while being intensively treated for Haemonchus, frequently end up with ulcers. In order to reduce the likelihood of the alpaca getting ulcers, we would give it Carafate or Zantac. Zantac can be bought off the shelf at the chemist (pharmacy) but is probably not as effective as Carafate, which must be supplied by a vet (or doctor).
• Electrolytes. We get ours from Falloon’s in Dairy Flat and an analysis shows them to be ideally suited to the needs of alpacas. In the States, there is a product called “Stop Stress” that is very similar.
• Keep the alpaca warm. This is a challenge, even in summer. But, we would keep a cover on an alpaca with Haemonchosis, at least at night.
• Wean cria. If the affected alpaca is a lactating female, the cria should be (at least temporarily) weaned.
• Transfusion. Your vet may also do a fresh blood transfusion. There is no need to consider blood typing for the first transfusion. If more than one transfusion is necessary, however, the second and subsequent transfusions should be from an alpaca with the same blood type. If there isn’t time for blood typing, then use the same alpaca for the second transfusion that was used for the first. We would transfuse about 400 to 500mL of fresh blood, but some vets feel comfortable with larger quantities.

Haemonchus is very prevalent in the north of the North Island of New Zealand and the Southeast United States. If your alpacas are likely to fall victim to this vicious internal parasite, we urge to have a plan of action before it is needed and that plan should be worked out with your own vet. That plan of action should include having some or all of the above items on hand.

You should be aware that other issues, besides Haemonchosis, could cause anaemia, weight loss and lethargy. A common problem, in New Zealand, that can present similar symptoms is Hypophosphatemia (phosphate deficiency). This can be diagnosed with a blood test (chemical panel) and should be done fairly early in the exercise. Most of the treatments mentioned above would still be appropriate, except for the anthelmintic. Treating for internal parasites while waiting for lab results, however, isn’t really a bad thing to do. It is also quite possible to have both problems at the same time (parasites and phosphate deficiency).

The treatment for Hypophosphatemia, by the way, is usually an injection like Richtafort, Coforta, or similar. Some ADE (vitamins A, D and E) would be advisable, as vitamin D will assist with the uptake of phosphorous.

Prevention is better than trying to cure Haemonchosis. Body condition scoring, fecal egg counting, and frequent weighing can go a long way towards preventing serious cases of Haemonchosis. Alpaca owners should also avoid over grazing and, if possible, cross-graze with cattle. Frequent removal of alpaca manure and special attention to lactating females, particularly when the crias are two to three months old, is also recommended.

Chuck Rademacher
Kaipara Pines Alpacas
South Head, Auckland, New Zealand
www.alpacafarm.co.nz