2016 FAMACHA Certification Workshop Registration is now open!
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What is FAMACHA?
The FAMACHA system is a systematic approach to maintaining herd health in small ruminant species and the camelid species. The system is named after its developer Francois Malan, a South African parasitologist.
FAMACHA is used to assess anemia of the animals due to infections with the parasite, Haemonchus contortus (pronounced He-monk-us cun-tor-tus and also known in lay terms as the barberpole worm or the wireworm). The system is validated for use in sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas as well as other companion animal camelids and small ruminants.
The use of the system came about as a means to help address the major issues associated with anthelmintic resistance (parasite resistance to dewormers) and uses the degree of anemia to determine the need for intervention with an anthelmintic (dewormer).
As more research has been conducted, we now know that frequent deworming of these animals are not conducive because deworming an entire herd for prevention instead of deworming an individual for treatment purposes further exacerbates the prevalence of resistance.
Essentially, FAMACHA helps us identify those individual goats and sheep that are chronically affected by worms. For more information about FAMACHA and it's application, be sure to come to the 2015 FAMACHA Certification workshop.
The FAMACHA system is a systematic approach to maintaining herd health in small ruminant species and the camelid species. The system is named after its developer Francois Malan, a South African parasitologist.
FAMACHA is used to assess anemia of the animals due to infections with the parasite, Haemonchus contortus (pronounced He-monk-us cun-tor-tus and also known in lay terms as the barberpole worm or the wireworm). The system is validated for use in sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas as well as other companion animal camelids and small ruminants.
The use of the system came about as a means to help address the major issues associated with anthelmintic resistance (parasite resistance to dewormers) and uses the degree of anemia to determine the need for intervention with an anthelmintic (dewormer).
As more research has been conducted, we now know that frequent deworming of these animals are not conducive because deworming an entire herd for prevention instead of deworming an individual for treatment purposes further exacerbates the prevalence of resistance.
Essentially, FAMACHA helps us identify those individual goats and sheep that are chronically affected by worms. For more information about FAMACHA and it's application, be sure to come to the 2015 FAMACHA Certification workshop.