Geronimo the alpaca's post-mortem test results inconclusive

The Government have released the full post-mortem results

Author: Isabel KimbreyPublished 10th Dec 2021
Last updated 10th Dec 2021

The full post-mortem results from Geronimo the alpaca have come back inconclusive.

Released by The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, they say it is "not possible" to explain how the animal contracted bovine tuberculosis.

Geronimo, who lived on a farm in South Gloucestershire, was euthanized in August having previously twice testd positive for the disease in 2017.

His owner Helen macdonald battled the courts for four years which were followed by protests and celebrity interventions earlier this year.

She has always claimed Geronimo had given false positive tests results

A Complex Disease

The results explain how there were "TB-like lesions" which have been tested further to determine the source of the infection.

But The Animal and Plant Health Agency, who carried out the post-mortem, have confirmed that it was not possible to culture bacteria from tissue samples taken.

This means that it will not be possible to carry out Whole Genome Sequencing in order to try to understand how the alpaca caught the disease.

The report goes on to say, "that does not mean the animal was free of bTB infection because it had previously twice tested positive using highly specific, validated and reliable tests."

Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said: "This animal tested positive for bovine tuberculosis on two separate occasions using highly specific tests.

Due to the complexity of the disease, further testing has not enabled us to use Whole Genome Sequencing to try to understand how the animal became infected in the first place.

"Our sympathies remain with all those with animals affected by this terrible disease which devastates farmers’ livelihoods."

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