July 2020

Summer often brings an explosion of worms!

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Texas A&M AgriLife FEC Testing

Texas A&M AgriLife is now offering fecal egg count testing to help sheep and goat breeders quantify natural resistance to internal parasites. Testing is most useful when the data is used to develop EBVs through the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP).


https://sanangelo.tamu.edu/lab-services/fec/


View collection procedure:

Fecal Collection for Parasite Testing

Do Parasites Protect Against SARS-CoV-2?

The world has rarely seen such a readily transmissible infection as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) over the last century. However, the spread of the virus is slower than expected in Africa. A new study by researchers at Makerere University and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is focused on finding any possible link between the low risk of infection and parasitic infections.


Read full article in News Medical Life Sciences

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Weekly Worm Webinar Recordings

Small Ruminant Extension Specialists from the University of Maryland, Delaware State University, Virginia State University, and Fort Valley State University collaborated to hold a Weekly Worm Webinar Series, April 24 - June 9, 2020. A webinar on BioWorma® was also held. All of the webinars were recorded and the recordings have been uploaded to YouTube.


Links to the webinar recordings and accompanying PowerPoint presentation are available at https://www.wormx.info/webinar-videos.

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Weighing Sheep and Goats

Don't have a scale? You can use measurements to estimate the weight of a sheep or goat. It's not as good as a scale, but better than guessing. Deworming needs to be based on accurate weights. Underdosing is a contributing factor to anthelmintic resistance.


https://meatsheepallianceofflorida.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/sheep-weight-tape-measurment.pdf

Timely Topic: April 2016

Timely Topic: April 2016

Stocking Density Impacts Worm Loads
by Jim Morgan

Most, if not all, aspects of parasitism are impacted by numbers of sheep per acre (stocking density). Similar to the spread of any communicable disease, density of the organism is a key variable impacting worm loads.


Read full article
Timely Topic: April 2016

Online FAMACHA© certification

Due to Covid 19, several institutions are now offering online FAMACHA© certification. The University of Rhode Island has been offering online FAMACHA© certification since 2016.


University of Rhode Island

https://web.uri.edu/sheepngoat/famacha/.


University of Maryland
https://www.sheepandgoat.com/online-famacha-certification


Virginia State University / Fort Valley State University

About the Newsletter

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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American Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control (ACSRPC)

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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. The consortium was formed in 2003 in response to the critical state of the small ruminant industry associated with the emergence of anthelmintic resistant worms.
sschoen@umd.edu wormx.info