WORMInfo

WORMINFO is a monthly newsletter about gastro-intestinal parsites. It is sent to subscribers to the WORMINFO listserv. The WORMINFO listserv lets subscribers know when something new has posted to WORMX, the web site of the American Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control (ACSRPC). To subscribe to the WORMINFO listserv, send an email to listserv@listserv.umd.edu. In the body of the message, write subscribe WORMINFO. You can also subscribe to the newsletters via Smore.

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Research conducted at West Virginia University showed that grazing a high-tannin cultivar of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) had both therapeutic and preventative effects on Haemonchus contortus infections in lambs and could be used in a systems approach to control GIN parasites in grazing sheep.

Read abstract from Journal of Animal Science
Read article in Feedstuffs magazine

Image by Ken Turner

Brazilian researchers designed a study to evaluate the effectiveness of both productive and clinical indicators in the targeted selective treatment (TST) of gastrointestinal parasites in growing lambs. Two experiments were carried out between 2015 and 2016. Lambs were divided into four experimental groups, based on different criterion for anthelmintic treatment.

Read more . . .

Brazilian researchers recommend that FAMACHA© not be used as the exclusive criterion
for TST in growing lambs, even when Haemonchus contortus is the primary parasite.

Genetic selection for internal parasite resistance in sheep is a valuable tool to mitigate effects of parasitism, especially when significant within breed variation exists. Towards this objective, West Virginia University (WVU) and Virginia Tech researchers devised a divergent mating scheme using Katahdin rams selected for high or low estimated breeding values (EBVs) for fecal egg count (FEC).

Read more . . .

Rams with low FEC EBVs sire lambs with lower fecal egg counts and vice versa.

Researchers determined the prevalence and variation of natural gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections in lambs according to birth type, gender, and breed based on individual fecal egg counts (FEC) from various regions in Germany.

A total of 3,924 lambs (3-15 months old) with different genetic backgrounds (Merinoland, German Blackhead Mutton, Rhoen, Texel, and Merino long-wool) were individually sampled during the grazing period between 2006 and 2008.

Read more . . .

Inter-individual variations were higher than inter-breed differences, which may
indicate the possibility of selection within these breeds for parasite resistance.

Duddingtonia flagrans is just one of hundreds of species of nematophagous fungi that exist in the soil, and these fungi use a number of different strategies to kill nematodes.

Read more . . .

D. flagrans was selected because it is one of a very few species
that can survive passage through a mammalian GI tract.

William Fritz, Ph.D., is the first FAMACHA© instructor listed for Pennsylvania. He is an Assistant Professor at Delaware Valley University. Dr. Fritz received his Ph.D. in Endocrinology and Animal Biosciences from Rutgers University. He has experience in both classroom and farm settings. Dr. Fritz can be reach at (215) 489-2325 or william.fritz@delval.edu

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Eric Morgan is a Professor in the newly formed Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast. His research interests focus on the role of climate in shaping parasite epidemiology in a wide range of systems, and how better understanding in this area can aid control. He is a Diplomate of the European Veterinary Parasitology College, and hence a recognized European veterinary specialist in parasitology. Dr. Morgan can be reached at eric.morgan@qub.ac.uk

Read Dr. Morgan's full profile
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March 15-17
Southern States Llama Association (SSLA)
Annual Meeting and Conference
UGA Instructional Arena
University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
Info: Kim Kyst at (678) 481-3759 or kim@kyst.org
Download flyer

December 7 (tentative) - HOLD THE DATE
Third All Worms All Day Conference
Sponsored by Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware Extension
Southwest Virginia

The ACSRPC is a group of scientists, veterinarians, and extension specialists dedicated to helping small ruminant producers control GI parasites in their flocks and herds.

Website: http://www.wormx.info