A Review of Observations Made on Select Parameters of the Camel Immune System

Despite the camel’s long historical interaction with man there is only a limited number of studies available pertaining to theimmunobiology of this species. This is unfortunate as the camel has evolved into an animal capable of not only surviving under extremeenvironmental conditions but also into one that is relatively resistant to a great number of infectious diseases. Accordingly, it is of interestto understand the various components operative in the camel immune system, as a potential basis of manipulating the immune responseof other domesticated animals to respond to disease-causing agents in a similarly effective fashion. Recent research endeavors on thecomplement and phagocytic system, as well as the unique antibody types found in camelids that have seen an explosion of interest in recenttimes have been reviewed and their potential use as diagnostic and therapeutic tools highlighted.