Case report details systemic toxoplasmosis in an adult alpaca
CURRENT BRIEF VERSION: A new case report in the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation describes what authors say is the first fatal case of systemic toxoplasmosis documented in an adult alpaca. The animal, an 11-year-old female, was submitted for necropsy after three days of sternal recumbency. Gross findings included hydrothorax, ascites, hepatomegaly, fibrinous pleuritis, cranioventral bronchopneumonia, and pulmonary atelectasis. Histopathology identified chronic lymphocytic and histiocytic hepatitis with necrosis and portal-to-portal bridging fibrosis, thrombosis in thoracic and abdominal adipose tissue, fibrinosuppurative pleuritis, pyogranulomatous pneumonia, and ulcerative gastritis in C1. Toxoplasma gondii was confirmed in the liver by qPCR, and bradyzoites and tachyzoites were confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The authors note that no clear predisposing cause was identified, despite systemic toxoplasmosis being more typical in neonatal or immunocompromised animals. (acvp.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the report is a reminder that camelids can be seropositive for T. gondii without obvious disease, yet rare adult cases can present as fatal multisystem illness. Prior literature has shown exposure in alpacas and llamas across multiple regions, including Swiss herds and adult camelids in Peru, while clinical disease reports remain sparse. That gap matters diagnostically: severe hepatitis, pneumonia, pleuritis, thrombosis, or unexplained recumbency in alpacas may warrant adding toxoplasmosis to differentials, especially when lesions are systemic and protozoal disease is on the table. And because alpaca head and sinus anatomy has been relatively underdescribed—recent cross-sectional imaging work found consistent dorsal and middle conchal, maxillary, frontal, and ethmoidal sinuses, with no ventral conchal or palatine sinuses in examined specimens—species-specific anatomic knowledge can also matter when clinicians are working up respiratory disease that could compete with or complicate infectious differentials. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
What to watch: Watch for whether this case prompts broader discussion about camelid toxoplasmosis surveillance, differential diagnosis in adult alpacas, and possible management factors tied to environmental exposure to felid-shed oocysts. It may also renew attention to baseline alpaca imaging anatomy as clinicians sort upper-airway and sinus disease from systemic infectious processes in this species. (msdvetmanual.com; onlinelibrary.wiley.com)