What does a Persistently Infected cria look like?
Most PI cria appear to be poor doing animals and rarely live to 2 years of age. Yet, in cattle there are documented cases of normal appearing calves that test positive as a PI, survive long enough to become pregnant, and give birth to a persistently infected calf. Therefore, normal appearing doesnt rule out PI status completely. To date most documented PI cria have been born at low birth weights (9-15) pounds. Many are premature by a couple of weeks and may do well for the first month if they received adequate colostrum or a plasma transfusion. As they use up that maternal antibody they tend to develop chronic illness [nasal and eye discharges being the most common in my practice]. PIs tend to have poor weight gain and many have an abnormal hair coat (long and silky in the huacayas, similar to suri fiber but doesnt lock). How do alpacas get BVD? Alpacas contract BVD primarily from the persistently infected cria that are shedding the virus in huge amounts into the environment in their b
