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.