There has been some confusion going around about whether or not humans can contract this virus and pass it along. This is not the case and to be certain here is a reply I had from ARF on this very subject.
This disease does not affect humans, but like Foot and Mouth Disease and probably BVDV it can be carried on human hands, shoes, clothes etc and easily transfered from one alpaca to another via a human intermediary. Under these circumstances if there is even a suspicion of a problem on a given farm, all the humans involved must be incredibly careful not to spread the disease themselves. I should have made that statement much clearer.

So I hope that clears up that small misunderstanding.

All the females are now pregnant so in early December I will be hitching up the trailer and heading off to Portland to bring them home. It will be good to have a few more females around the place.

This event is now firmly fixed in the world of alpacas calendar. The dates for 2008 and subsequent years are listed below. So please put them into your diary / calendar right now!

National Alpaca Farm Day 2008 - September 27th and 28th

National Alpaca Farm Day 2009 - September 26th and 27th

National Alpaca Farm Day 2010 - September 25th and 26th

This event makes a very pleasant change from the usual alpaca shows and is a great opportunity to get up close with the alpacas without being in a crowd of one or two.
There are many questions when you first visit an alpaca farm so make sure you take a pen and paper or some other method to record your questions and answers.

If you are thinking about buying alpacas then you need to do your homework before hand and we have a simple and easy to use buyers guide which you can read before going on a farm visit just to whet your appetite.

There are some other informational and entertainng alpaca articles in the farm library which you can read.

Today our fellow alpaca breeders Richard and Renate Gyuro are heading off to darkest Peru for a tax deductible trip to the Alpaca Fiesta.

The Alpaca Fiesta 2007 is organized by the International Alpaca Association and will take place in Arequipa, Peru from 14th to 18th November 2007.
Arequipa is where 100% of Peru’s alpaca fibre is processed into semi and/or fully finished textile articles which are then exported worldwide. The city of Arequipa is located 1,000 kilometres south of the country’s capital, Lima, at an altitude of 7,628 feet above sea level. Surrounding the city is the national reserve of Vicuñas and Alpacas.
The Alpaca Fiesta 2007 will be hosted in Arequipa’s main Showground and Conference Centre, “Cerro Juli”, and offers a wide range of events aimed at improving the understanding of alpaca breeding through to finished fashion wear on the catwalk.

Participants from all over the world: The United States of America, Australia, Japan, China, Italy, The United Kingdom, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina among others will enjoy a number of activities including:

Alpaca Show: more than 700 alpacas from the best ranches in Peru will be in competition.

The opening Ceremony is an Arequipanian way to launch the event in “fiesta style” with a Carnival Procession and Fireworks.

Not to be missed is Vicuña Chaccu.: the traditional Inca method of rounding-up wild vicunas for shearing, and is still employed today up in the Altiplano.

Horsemanship Show: Peru’s famous “Caballos de Paso” put on an entertaining demonstration to the accompaniment of Marinera Dancers.

Factory Visits: tours of Arequipa`s main spinning, knitting and weaving installations to see the latest technology that maintains the quality of alpaca production.

Conferences and Clinics: papers and courses relating to the alpaca business are presented to the participants by leading experts in their respective fields.

The fashion Show: this stunning event brings together some of the worlds most talented alpaca product designers to put on an outstanding fashion show.

I hope they have remembered to pack the Imodium !

The Humane Society of the United States is hoping a reward will stimulate leads in the case of the 5-day-old alpaca found decapitated in Walworth County, Wisconsin

Tana Ward found the alpaca missing last month from her farm near Delavan. She later found 17-pound Arianne beheaded in a pasture.

The animal-protection group is offering up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. The Animal Defense Council has offered an additional $500.

Tana says there were no marks that might have indicated a coyote killed it. Authorities in Delavan are still looking for suspects.

When we arrived in the USA three and a half years ago we brought with us Phoebe a Golden retriever.....well part Golden Retriever and part Rug...she is not one for high adventure or long walks and much prefers to be curled up in front of the fire.

Gifford our Australian Shepherd has a natural ability with the alpacas and of course tries his best to herd them along. Alpacas being alpacas they simply humour him....

Tonks our latest arrival is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever loves the water but is just a simple soul and gets excited at the least thing.

The alpacas have become quite used to having Gifford around and catching the occasional glimpse of Phoebe . But somehow the galloping unpredictable nature of Tonks sets off a cacophony of alarm calls from two or three of the alpacas. Hopefully they will get used to him one day but the last 5 months show no sign of change.....



This evening when I went to feed the barn cats there was the most awful mewing from one of the kittens. I was later than usual so it was getting quite dark in the hay barn. All I could see was a kitten with a disfigured head on top of the hay bales...... a closer inspection revealed that the kitten had somehow found an empty tin of cat food and pushed his head inside....the tin was now firmly stuck and I would imagine it had been there for some while. The young kitten was very pleased to once again see the light of day and scampered off to find his mother. A very lucky escape........

When we moved to the USA from the UK three years ago to start Mulberry Alpacas we brought with us a dog and two cats. The English cats belonged to our children and are called Creeper and Poppy. They live inside the house.

Meanwhile outside in the alpaca barn lives our male barn cat, you may remember I wrote about him four months ago just after he gave birth to four kittens......for a while I was unsure whether to write to the Pope and make his holiness aware of this miracle or just accept that Dean Otten made an honest mistake when he told me it was a male cat. On balance I decided not to bother the Pontiff with my news.

Anyway a couple of weeks ago Creeper one of our ageing English cats disappeared and as we all know this is sometimes what cats do as they come to the end of their days....and very sensible it is in my opinion. My wife and children assumed the worst as each day went by......

Then as I was feeding the mother cat and her kittens this evening I noticed a familiar interloper at the food trough.....



Was it an extra large fifth kitten? Or had Creeper opted for family life in the alpaca barn?

It was of course Creeper. Quite why he has moved to the outside at this time of year I have no idea.....and before you get any ideas I can tell that he was neutered in the UK many years ago..

So it looks like we will have to increase the food ration the the barn cats receive now I know another adult has joined the den....

Always curious to see what our Oriental cousins are doing with their alpacas I often surf around Chinese websites to see what is on offer. Well, China is the largest buyer of alpaca fiber in the world.

Now if you search on alpaca fabric you will get some interesting results. Take this one for example :

Alpaca Fabric:
Composition: 90%polyester, 10%viscose

Can you spot what is missing in this composition?

If you look around on Alibaba the big Chinese trading site you can find alpaca garments for sale. Take this girls jacket from Shenzhen E-o Trading Co., Ltd Providing you order a minimum quantity of 100 you can have them for $9.60 each !



Well its made from alpaca isn't it?

Some fabrics are called alpaca and actually do have some in there but not very much:

Features:
1) Width: 57" / 58"
2) Composition: Alpaca 15%, woolen 80%, 5% nylon
3) Weight: 580g/m
4) Size: about 55m/roll
5) Soft touch one side brushed
6) Different colors or style available
7) High quality and reasonable prices
OEM available
9) 1*20'=10000M
10) For winter

And some are honest enough to call their product imitation alpaca tweed fabric:

Features:
1) Width: 57" / 58"
2) Composition: polyest80%,viscose20%
3) Weight: 620g/m
4) Size: about 55m/roll
5) Soft touch one side brushed
6) Different colors or styles available
7) High quality and reasonable prices
OEM available
9) 1*20'=10000M

Well I am sure you get the ideal that when a Chinese manufacturer says alpaca fabric you might not be talking the same language.

As president of the local alpaca breeders association it can be all too easy to forget what we achieve and focus on the parts we didn't do. If you are thinking of joining an AOBA affilaite and live in the Pacific NorthWest then SOJAA might be for you....

Volume Discounts
Recent bulk buys include alpaca socks, Norm Evans Field Manual (2nd edition), microchips and chip readers, feed supplements, shearing, hay and hay testing equipment, cria resuscitation kits and custom embroidered clothing.
Meetings
Regular meetings are organised throughout the year with relevant and interesting guest speakers. Either at special member only low rates or often at no additional cost. Topics such as: Inserting microchips, testing hay, nitrates and alpacas, showing fleeces, BVDV in alpacas, farm and ranch insurance, alpaca Type Conference, mini mill visit and seminar have all been featured.
Show Time
AlpacaMania our annual level III AOBA Certified Alpaca Show. Is your chance to be involved in staging the friendliest alpaca show in the world. In 2006 and again in 2007 SOJAA hosted and sponsored It’s a Fact an annual event to promote alpaca fibre and fibre arts.
Internet Activity
The SOJAA web site includes details of members’ farms, access to alpaca discussion forums, library of articles, and member mass mailing facility - all of which combine to ensure you stay informed of industry issues and other relevant topics. Members are also able to use the SOJAA "Alpaca Marketplace" to promote animals that they have for sale or hire.
Advertising
From time to time SOJAA place advertisements in suitable publications. These ads are designed to attract internet traffic to the SOJAA web site and then to your farm…the rest is up to you!
Fellowship
The opportunity to meet and get to know like minded alpaca breeders who value integrity and friendship but often have differing views on alpaca topics such as say breed standards. All views are welcome. In 2007 SOJAA members donated hundreds of pairs of socks to American troops serving in Iraq.
Knowledge Pool
Within the SOJAA membership, we have a wealth of talented people. People who will share their knowledge and experience on just about any subject you can think of: processing fibre, spinning yarn, alpaca husbandry, marketing, web design, barn construction, pasture maintenance, hay analysis and many more.
Industry Support
Each year SOJAA make a substantial donation to organizations associated with alpaca welfare. In 2005 for example SOJAA donated an endoscope to the Camelid Facility at Oregon State University. In 2006 SOJAA donated equipment to OSU which helps combat hypothermia in alpaca cria. In 2007 donations were made to Universities in Oregon, Washington and California. Equipment and books were purchased for local veterinarians .
Veterinary Scholarships
New in 2006 were a number of scholarships. These scholarships are offered to enable young vets to attend specialist camelid courses at OSU. This initiative helps build the expertise and enthusiasm for alpacas among vets in the areas where we live. These scholarships were awarded again in 2007.
Grants
Each year SOJAA makes available a limited number of grants to support activities that promote the alpaca industry such as Fibre on the Foot. In 2007 SOJAA donated money to support the collection of alpaca fibre for AFCNA the national fibre cooperative.
Charities
SOJAA supported two charities in 2005: ACCESS and Southern Oregon Humane Society.
The Bottom Line

As with many things in life, what you get out of your membership will depend to a large extent on what you put in.
"The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"

Adrian Stewart - President SOJAA

Attached is an article that was posted on the ICI web site on Saturday.

Between the months of June and October 2007, an unknown number of respiratory cases have been seen across the US varying in severity from sub-clinical, mild to severe respiratory disease with fatalities. This recent occurrence of infectious respiratory disease has gone through most of the large camelid population areas in the US leaving many animals affected, some with fatal results.

In The Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital, the initial information we received came from telephone calls and referrals of some animals (mostly alpacas) with mild respiratory signs including nasal discharge, coughing and fever. We examined several animals here and submitted samples for serologic testing and virus isolation through our Ohio Veterinary Diagnostic laboratory and the Veterinary Diagnostic laboratory at Oregon State University. To date, most of the samples submitted for serology have come back negative. I have spoken to individuals from the West and East coasts and have read on the various listservs (Veterinary) that their testing has resulted in similar findings. In some of our cases we have had serologic positives for Adenovirus, (reported in association with pneumonia in llamas); however, this virus is reportedly a common finding in camelids. Others I have spoken to suggest Parainfluenza virus may be involved and the possibility that a Coronavirus may be involved is also being investigated.

The demographics of the animals we have examined include: Older females (>10 years of age) who are in late pregnancy or early after giving birth (<3 weeks), who present after abortion, or after normal gestation length and delivery of healthy crias. Several llamas with high respiratory rates, fever, abnormal lung sounds and pleural effusion survived after extensive treatment and supportive care. Several older Alpaca females (>10 years of age) with healthy crias (~ 2 weeks of age) presented in respiratory distress, pleural effusion and severe lung consolidation. These animals died en route or were euthanized due to severe pneumonia. Their crias survived without evidence of respiratory disease.

Based upon our local findings, and those reports provided to me from other locations in the US, this viral respiratory disease can have serious consequences with bacterial secondary infections. The viral agent is as yet unknown. Many groups are actively conducting tests and accepting samples for future testing once the causative agent has been identified.

Recommendations for Those Owners Experiencing This Problem:

1. Enforce strict bio-security protocols to prevent animals from bringing this agent to your farm. I would consider animals that return from shows/breeding farms as potential vectors even if not clinically affected. House these animals separately from the breeding stock for a minimum of 5-10 days before re-introducing them to the herd. As the identity of this agent has not been determined, longer isolation periods may be prudent.

2. The quarantine facility should be separated in all aspects from the remainder of the farm. Separate personnel should tend to these animals during their quarantine period. Animal handlers, grooms, etc should be provided with disposable outer wear (including caps and shoe covers) to prevent the spread of infectious agents to other animals through contamination of clothing, footwear, etc. Clean equipment, bedding, feed, and all materials to be used in contact with these animals should be kept separate from the rest of the herd.

3. Maintain strict bio-security of bred females, especially older animals. In our experience these animals are the most severely affected. Limit the stress of handling of pregnant females by evaluation of respiratory rates in pasture (from a distance) and physically restraining only those with an unexpected rise or work in breathing.

3. Have your Veterinarian examine all animals with clinical signs at an early stage. If deemed necessary due to fever, respiratory rates or other concerns, treatment should be initiated. If your Veterinarian needs information on or about this respiratory condition, please feel free to pass this information on to them. Contact information for experienced Veterinary personnel is posted at the bottom of this statement.

4. Obtain blood samples (for serum) from those animals demonstrating the common clinical signs (nasal/ocular discharge, coughing, fever, open mouth breathing) and submit these samples to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory for respiratory serology. Although we may not get information back on what is causing this problem soon, those individuals investigating this respiratory condition indicate that future testing of frozen (banked) serum, especially paired serum samples taken 2-4 weeks apart may be useful in gaining an understanding of this problem.

5. Treatment of those animals with more severe symptoms (fever, pneumonia), should include broad spectrum antibiotics which are effective against gram negative and gram positive bacteria. Those animals we have examined have had a number of opportunistic bacteria isolated from their lungs.

It is very quiet on the farm at this time of year. I spent most of the day sat at my PC doing web marketing stuff. One e-mail really caught my attention.
Mike Safley at Northwest Alpacas is planning to hold some web based seminars or webinars as they are sometimes called.

Before doing this Mike did some research into what topics alpaca breeders would be interested in hearing about. Here are his results:

Below are the possible topics and then the percentage of those who were interested in that topic.

Getting started in the alpaca business.......................43%
Alpaca tax benefits, including Sect.179 deductions...........56%
Genetics.............................................................................74%
Marketing...........................................................................75%
How to win in the show ring..............................................52%
Husbandry..........................................................................66%
How to select your first alpacas for purchase....................43%
Utilizing the Ideal Alpaca Community.................................47%

I have to say I was surprised to see that Marketing and Genetics were the top two topics as picked from Mikes list. When asked what else might interest folks Fibre obviously came out as another area of great interest.

I haven't put the data up here but the other item which caught my attention was that Saturday night was by far the most popular time for people to participate in a webinar.

You live and you learn...and as my uncle used to say...no point getting old if you don't get wiser....

Viruses are a class of pathogens that can cause illness in susceptible populations. The vast majority of viruses are species specific and are non-zoonotic (not transmissible to humans or vice versa).

This disease whatever it is does not affect humans, but like Foot and Mouth Disease and probably BVDV it can be carried on human hands, shoes, clothes tools and easily transferred from one alpaca to another via a human intermediary. Under these circumstances if there is even a suspicion of a problem on a given farm, all the humans involved must be incredibly careful not to spread the disease themselves.

Firstly, early communication with your veterinarian is critical as he/she can suggest just how infectious the viral disease is and how rigorous you must be with precautions, quarantine and treatment.

Traditional antibiotics are not an effective treatment for viruses. There are a very few prescription based antiviral agents for use in human disease, but we are not aware of any pharmaceutical antiviral compounds licensed for livestock animal use and off course all alpaca medications are "off label" and not therefore licenced.

Viruses require a means to get from animal to animal. This can be “nose to nose” contact, spread of the virus by insects, virus on our hands, clothes, shoes or with farm implements used for cleaning. Virus particles can be passed in the air but rarely move unassisted more than a hundred feet.

There are some viruses that are lethal, rabies for example, but the vast majority of viruses are not. The key is to support the ill animal so it can develop its own defenses.

Virus infections typically have three stages:
At first, expose occurs and the animal exhibits no symptoms. This is called the viral incubation or latent period.
Secondly, the virus rapidly reproduces in the host's blood and tissues, with the infected animal sometimes showing symptoms of viral disease; fever, depression, loss of appetite, nasal discharge.
Lastly, the virus is shed through saliva mucous discharge, urine, feces - any number of routes depending on the specific type of virus and the particulars of its transmission.

Most viral infections have symptoms starting in the second stage and getting worse in the third stage.

Recovery from a viral infection also progresses through stages. Even during the latent incubation phase, the animal's immune system is developing defenses. Fever is the body's normal physiological response to decrease the rate of viral replication.

With a viral challenge, blood antibodies are also being mustered to fight the invading virus. With time, as the alpaca's immune system overcomes the virus, the fever wanes and appetite recovers. Most alpacas recover uneventfully.

A positive consequence with recovery from a viral infection is that the alpaca has developed immunity to that specific virus for some period of time. In many cases immunity lasts for that alpaca's lifetime. However, many viruses mutate every few years, essentially becoming new and different organisms. When exposed to these mutated viruses, the body must repeat the process of recognizing, fighting and clearing the new invader.

This illustrates the need for a healthy immune system. To enable the alpaca to respond to these repeated stresses, it is important to provide sound nutrition. A healthy immune state is dependant on a diet appropriate in fresh forages, minerals and adequate protein.

All alpacas coming to or returning to your farm should be quarantined for a minimum of three weeks. In most cases, this is long enough for most viral diseases to go through the three stages of development, and for disease symptoms to resolve. If any symptoms of disease develop, quarantine should be extended until all symptoms are gone.

A quarantine area is not extensive or elaborate. Your transport trailer, for protection from the elements, with some fencing is perfectly adequate so long as it is physically isolated (minimum of 100 feet) from the other animals.

Viral diseases that present with a runny nose transmit viral particles by direct contact, community feed buckets, water pails and by insects that flock to the nasal mucous. In areas or times with insect persistence, the use of fly sprays (pyrethrum based) are very useful to limit fly populations. With cold winter weather, insect transmission is obviously severely limited.

Regardless of insect transmission, cleaning water and feed buckets is a must and limiting infected animals to a quarantine area is critical so that the virus spread is limited.

Wearing clean clothes and shoes is important when dealing with viral diseases. Start in the “clean” barn with fresh clothes. Then move to the “infected” area and tend to those animals.

Contaminated clothing should be washed in hot bleach water before returning to the clean area. Always start with clean clothing in the clean area. Wash your hands with hot water and soap. Using a foot bath is mandatory as you simply do not have enough shoes to rotate through.

Common sense will usually tell you what to do.

This entry contains sections from an article by Tom Cameron DVM and Steve Hull, PhD; TimberLake Farms, Inc.

Today we were kind of on standby by to photograph our friend Dana as he went solo for the first time having passed his private pilots licence...this was pretty easy as he simply sent me a text message then flew over the farm.....



Then it was all stations go to load up Sergeant pepper and Korky then head off to Klamath Falls to deliver the boys to their new home with Rebecca and Bob. The journey took much longer than expected but we all arrived safely and the boys were soon blending in with the rest of the herd....

What we didn't realise at the time was that one of our female alpacas up in Portland had been taken in with a low blood count and was being shipped off to the vet receive a unit of blood and a what sounded like half the medical cabinet....she is now back on the farm in Portland and hopefully recovering. However she is no spring chicken and as she is one of the original imports we really don't know how old she is but she must be at least 17 years old.... so it doesn't make sense to run up a huge vet bill for a female who is at the end of her productive life...you can't help becoming attached to your herd but at the end of the day they are livestock.

This is probably the longest posting ever on my Blog and is an article from the college of veterinary medicine at Washington State University. It is worth reading if you want to keep abreast of what is going on.

The upper respiratory tract disease referred to as “the snots” by many alpaca owners was observed in the Inland Pacific Northwest at the beginning of October. Owners from Walla Walla, Washington, to the Sandpoint, Idaho area reported runny noses in alpacas and llamas. At that time, no cases were reported in Western Washington or Southeast, Idaho. Now in mid-October, there are cases being reported in Western Washington. At approximately the same time, it appears cases were emerging in other areas of the country (New England, Montana, Wisconsin, Colorado, and California).

Most animals have a runny nose for 3-7 days which resolves without complications. Owners have reported 15-50% of their herds exhibiting these signs, with both sexes and all age groups affected. There have been a minority of animals that developed more severe complications including death. Complications involve pneumonia, sometimes leading to subcutaneous emphysema (air under the skin) due to the lung damage; “open mouth” breathing or gasping when stressed or handled; increased inspiratory effort changing to expiratory effort; anorexia; dehydration; increased recumbency, and low body temperatures. Owners have also reported stillbirths and premature crias.

Due to the acute onset and recovery of most animals, a viral infection is suspected as the initial infectious agent; however some bacteria can cause similar primary signs. A small number of animals are either developing more severe disease from the initial agent or developing a secondary infection. This commonly occurs in other species where a viral respiratory infection predisposes to a bacterial infection. The severely ill animals seen at WSU VTH and reported elsewhere appear to have had another major health problem or were in late stage pregnancy. These conditions lead to weakened immune systems and decreased ability to compensate when confronted with an additional disease. The still births, premature crias, and weak full term crias may be due to fetal stress from insufficient oxygen supply with respiratory disease in the dam, direct action of the agent on the placenta or fetus, or another unknown mechanism.

At this time, there are still more questions than answers. We know that camelids can be infected by bovine and equine respiratory disease agents and a few camelid specific respiratory agents have been identified previously. In order to determine the cause of this problem, assistance is needed. This requires a financial investment by owners and breeders to attempt to identify the disease agent and allow us to develop better treatments and possible protection. Any camelid that dies or is euthanized for respiratory disease should have a necropsy and tissue samples submitted to WADDL. In case of an outbreak, we recommend that samples (swabs from the nose and blood) be submitted from animals showing symptoms. This will help determine the organism responsible. Two blood samples are needed, 2-3 weeks apart, to examine if “titers” representing exposure are changing. Changes in titers can indicate an active infection or recovery from an infection. Bovine, camelid, and equine respiratory serology panels should be requested in addition to virology and bacteriology. Since the agent may be camelid in origin, note the species on the submission form. WADDL is aware of the respiratory disease problem and can provide additional advice regarding sample submissions. Diagnostic work on samples from cases seen at Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital is pending.
Antibiotics have not been warranted in most cases. A majority of animals recover without treatments however any animal that appears to be experiencing a more severe case should be examined by a veterinarian and treated as appropriate.

Our other recommendations include practicing good management and biosecurity protocols. This is something that has been repeatedly discussed due to the recent bovine viral diarrhea virus problems, Eimeria macusaniensis re-emergence, and other communicable diseases. Do not transport sick animals to shows or breeders. Show “vet checks” will, and should, deny entry to sick animals. Do not transport “at risk” animals, including dams with nursing crias and pregnant animals, until this problem settles down. Quarantine new and returning animals. Isolate sick animals from healthy animals. Monitor eating, recumbency, and attitude of the late stage pregnant animals and contact your veterinarian if any changes are noticed. Provide supportive care to sick animals: minimize stress, provide high quality feed and clean water, housing if inclement weather or at night with the decreasing temperatures. Finally, attend to sick animals after the healthy ones, do not share equipment between the sick pen and the healthy pens, wash your hands and change clothes after handing the sick animals.

Well the saga rolls on and as an industry we remain divided about just how serious this is.
Here is a letter from Alan Rosenbloom the president of ARF The Alpaca Research Foundation.

Folks,

At this point in time the two insurance companies that insure alpacas have received 20 claims for deaths related to "Snots." The majority of information available about this disease is of non-veterinarian origin and may be misleading. All of the cases which have been reported may or may not be the same disorder. All that being said, whatever it is is very contagious and is certainly transmitted from alpaca to alpaca, but very likely also from human to alpaca. There is intensive work ongoing at UC Davis and Washington State to define the cause, but it appears that the majority of deaths may be due to secondary bacterial infection ( if this is, in fact, a viral disease) and/or hepatic lipidosis due to rapid severe weight loss. There is anecdotal evidence to indicate that this disorder has been spread at three shows and at least two veterinary hospitals. There has been a suggestion that this may be an adenovirus, but no hard evidence that I know of. However, adenoviruses have been blamed for just about everything at one time or another. Given the fact that this is still a mystery disease, that it may be very widespread, but that all the cases may, in fact, not be the same disorder, it is difficult to imagine a study done in one area which would guarantee the answer to questions being asked in another area (eg.- what does the outbreak in Washington have to do with the oubreak in California, and what do either of those have to do with the isolated case in Florida?). Therefore, at this time all ARF can do is take the approach of watchful waiting. When WNV and BVDV were apparently becoming a problem, ARF immediately sent out Requests For Proposals (RFP) and research got under way almost immediately. This circumstance is very different and much more difficult to assess. If we get enough valid information to ask the right questions, we will be scouting around for studies to fund. Until then, the answer is the same as it has always been. Biosecurity prevents diseases we know about and ones we have yet to define.
I think it is reasonable to expect AOBA to be silent on this issue for as long as silence can be maintained. This scare could certainly keep people away from shows, and AOBA considers that specter absolutely frightening. It took an incredible amount of arm-twisting to get the AOBA BOD to go along with BVDV testing and this scenario is not much different ARF has contacted Gordon Anderson and informed him of our position on this. I got a simple non-committal reply from him, but he is in no position to do anything else.
Just be careful.

Alan