A STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAMACHA© SCORES AND PACKED CELL VOLUME, FECAL EGG COUNTS AND ADULT HAEMONCHUS COUNTS IN RED SOKOTO GOATS AT SLAUGHTER IN ZARIA, NIGERIA

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Department of Medicine

ABSTRACT
The FAMACHA© system was developed to assist farmers in identifying small ruminants clinically infected by haemonchosis and therefore in need of treatment with anthelmintics, against the blanket treatment of all animals irrespective of their worm burdens, resulting in anthelmintic resistance. This study was aimed at carrying out a preliminary evaluation of the sensitivity and specificity of the FAMACHA©. The colour of the ocular conjunctivae of 300 goats presented for slaughter was scored on a 1-5 scale using the FAMACHA© card and blood samples were collected from each animal for determination of Packed Cell Volume (PCV) and biochemical analyses. Fecal sample and abomasum were collected from each animal for determination of fecal egg counts (FEC) and the abomasum worm (adult Haemonchus) counts respectively. The accuracy of the chart was evaluated by using PCV as the gold standard for anemia, that is PCV≤ 18%.The mean PCV for animals with FAMACHA© scores (FS) 1,2,3,4, and 5 were 32.1±0.42, 31.3±0.36, 28.3±0.43, 23.8±0.66 and 18.1±1.69 respectively. Correlation between FS and PCV was negative (r = -0.6184) and highly significant (P<0.0001). The mean adult worm counts for animals with FS of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were 9.76±5.56, 41.50±7.76, 119.89±14.16, 332.54±61.67 and 833.90±412.67 respectively. There was a highly significant (P<0.0001) positive correlation between FS and adult worm count (r = 0.3216). The mean FEC for animals with FS 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were 269.47±110.37, 926.49±228.30, 1757.57±240.65, 2488.50±394.04 and 5923.26±2387.50 respectively. The correlation between FS and FEC was positive (r=0.3191) and highly significant (P<0.0001). The mean FEC for goats with PCV ranges of 7-29, 15-39, 12-39, 24-38 and 25-38 were 5923.26±2387.50, 2488.50±394.04, 1757±240.65, 926.49±228.30 and 269.47±110.37 respectively. The mean Body Condition scores (BCS) for goats with FS of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were 4.87±0.064, 4.23±0.057, 3.43±0.064, 2.28±0.11 and 1.70±0.127. There was a negative correlation between BC and FS (r = - 0.9937) and this was highly significant (P<0.0001).When animals with FS 4 & 5 were considered anemic, sensitivity of the FAMACHA© system was found to be 84.2% while specificity was 79.7%. Sensitivity increased to 100% but specificity decreased to 42.6% when animals with FS 3, 4, and 5 were considered anemic. Serum levels for total protein, albumin, urea and cholesterol were all within the normal range for the breed. It was therefore concluded that the FAMACHA© system could serve as a useful on - the - farm tool for the diagnosis of clinical haemonchosis in the red Sokoto goat, and give a guide on goats that need to be treated with an anthelmintic.