title: An epizootic of blindness and encephalitis associated with a herpesvirus indistinguishable from equine herpesvirus I in a herd of alpacas and llamas.
abstract: Blindness characterized by dilated unresponsive pupils and funduscopic evidence of varying degrees of vitritis, retinal vasculitis, retinitis, chorioretinitis, and optic neuritis developed in 21 alpacas and 1 llama within a 30-day period. The animals were part of a group of approximately 100 animals imported from Chile one year earlier. The animals had spent 6 months in quarantine and then, for the 6 months preceding the epizootic, were housed at an exotic animal import-export farm, where the disease developed. Four of the affected animals also had signs of neurologic dysfunction. A herpesvirus indistinguishable from equine herpesvirus I was isolated from 4 of the affected animals, and antibody titers diagnostic for equine herpesvirus I were demonstrated in the serum of all but one of the affected animals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, New York State College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca 14853.
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Rebhun
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Riis
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Dill
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Dubovi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torres
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001188:Artiodactyla; D001766:Blindness / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D002161:Camelids, New World; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005123:Eye / Q000473:pathology; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004861:Herpesvirus 1, Equid / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009887:Ophthalmoscopy / Q000662:veterinary; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000473:pathology; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000473:pathology; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology