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Questions and Answers About Llama IgG and Plasma Transfer by Donald Jorgensen * 5-12-00       The following questions are compiled from many different emails posted over the years on various email lists.       Question 1: I'm not sure if my cria nursed much the first 24 hours, but she's 4 days old and seems healthy. Is is necessary to get an IgG done? If so why?       Answer: What kind of llama owner are you? Have you had enough crias to recognize abnormal activity levels? Is "worry" your middle name? Is the dam a first-time mom? All of these questions are relative to the answer. Poor passive transfer occurs in 5 to 10% of animals be they horse, sheep, alpacas, llamas or cows. The IgG test is like a weight measurement, it clues you in as to how much nursing has occurred, and whether or not your cria might require special attention in the future. As an owner you have to answer the question... is it worthwhile to you to test 10 crias to find the one poor passive transfer? Do you want to spend the money to correct the problem now, or wait and possibly spend more money trying to fix a seriously ill cria in the future?       Question 2: If I don't IgG and my cria seems to go downhill later, can I do a plasma transfer then? What is the "window" in which a plasma transfer can help?       Answer: Plasma transfers always help and can be given at any time. If an animal has poor IgG and gets sick it will require 2 to 3 times more plasma to correct the problem. This is due to the consumption of antibody used to eliminate the infection present. Plasma given too quickly in this instance could cause shock so epinephrine should be on hand.       Question 3: I had a plasma transfer done on my cria. Is it necessary to get another IgG test done now?       Answer: It is not absolutely necessary to follow up with an IgG level. This is assuming that you transfuse the cria with the following formula; (weight divided by 2.2) x .07 = blood volume. Blood volume x necessary IgG to reach 1000mg/dl = amount of IgG you desire to circulate in the cria after transfusion. Multiply this number by 3 because average absorption is 35%. Divide this number by the concentration of the plasma you are giving to come up with the volume of plasma necessary. However, it is nice to do a follow up IgG level if you transfuse a sick cria because of the unusual consumption of IgG as discussed in question 2. This will tell you if you have enough protective antibodies present in the cria to last until the cria starts to produce it's own antibodies. And lastly, if you transfuse plasma with a unknown concentration of IgG you should check the cria's IgG.       Question 4: I was told that llamas can die around 2 years of age from Failure To Thrive Syndrome. Does that have anything to do with a low IgG as a cria? Will a high IgG prevent this?       Answer: Failure to thrive is a "generic" term. There can be many causes for what looks like the same problem. In horses, some foals can be exposed to an infection at a young age and the ones with poor IgG seem to incubate the infection for months before it finally emerges. I think this happens in llamas and is exhibited by runny noses and weepy eyes. Some crias with high IgG's at 24 hours have had failure to thrive at an older age. I believe these cases were genetic in nature.       Question 5: Does giving yearly CD/T shots (or whatever is right for my area) 6 to 8 weeks prior to a dam birthing help insure she'll pass better or more immunities in her colostrum?       Answer: More immunities to whatever the dam is injected with will be passed by the colostrum. However, most crias with poor IgG die simply from the lack of any immunity. Unless a farm has a specific disease present any good IgG given in the proper dosage will save a cria.       Question 6: If I give a cria with a low IgG a CD/T shot, will that help raise it's immunities?       Answer: Injecting a newborn cria will consume any antibodies it might have. If you want to stimulate the cria's immune system you should wait until it is manufacturing it's own IgG (about 4 months of age). The basic thing to remember is that the cria is developing antibodies to various things on the farm every time it nibbles at the dirt, touches noses with an adult or wrestles with another cria. Please remember that the answers to these questions are my own from observations over the last 20 years. IgG has been a big controversy in the equine world because veterinarians have shown that foals with low IgG's on Kentucky horse farms do survive. What they fail to mention is that the stalls are steam cleaned and the environment is immaculate. Immunity is common sense, the more stress through handling and the environment, the more mud and manure, the dirtier the water, etc. the greater the importance of good and normal immunity. Author Bio       Donald A. Jorgensen graduated from George Mason University in Virginia with a BS in Biology. He continued his education with graduate courses at the University of British Columbia, and the University of Washington, in subjects pertaining to his immunology business, Kent Laboratories.       Don has investigated llama research since 1981 when he worked with Dr. Warren Foote on progesterone levels in a large group of pregnant llamas. For three years they took bi-weekly blood samples to obtain progesterone levels during pregnancy.       Since then Don has focused on IgG studies and it's relationship to health in newborns. Normal numbers in IgG levels have been determined from 24 hours to weaning age, and it's concentration in colostrum. Don has worked with Dr. Don Mattson at OSU, Dr. Frank Garry at CSU, and Dr. Walter Bravo at the University of California. While working with Dr. Norm Evans and Pam Freeman, Don developed a procedure to calculate and correct poor IgG levels in newborns.       Don is currently a member of the ILA research committee and president of Kent Laboratories, a manufacturer of in vitro diagnostics.       All Animals owns all rights to this article. You may link to the article, but you may *not* copy it, nor reprint it anywhere else. You may print the URL which is www.all-animals.com/igg.html More Articles | Site Directory Advertising | Site Design | Site Hosting | About Us | Home | Email

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