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Proof of concept of faecal egg nematode counting as a practical means of veterinary engagement with planned livestock health management in a lower income country

Overview of attention for article published in Irish Veterinary Journal, June 2017
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About this Attention Score

  • Good Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (69th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (88th percentile)

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1 policy source
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Citations

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7 Dimensions

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59 Mendeley
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Title
Proof of concept of faecal egg nematode counting as a practical means of veterinary engagement with planned livestock health management in a lower income country
Published in
Irish Veterinary Journal, June 2017
DOI 10.1186/s13620-017-0094-9
Pubmed ID
Authors

Eithne Leahy, Barend Bronsvoort, Luke Gamble, Andrew Gibson, Henderson Kaponda, Dagmar Mayer, Stella Mazeri, Kate Shervell, Neil Sargison

Abstract

The wellbeing and livelihood of farmers in impoverished regions of the world is intrinsically linked to the health and welfare of their livestock; hence improved animal health is a pragmatic component of poverty alleviation. Prerequisite knowledge and understanding of the animal health challenges facing cattle keepers in Malawi is constrained by the lack of veterinary infrastructure, which inevitably accompanies under-resourced rural development in a poor country. We collaborated with public and private paraveterinary services to locate 62 village Zebu calves and 60 dairy co-operative calves dispersed over a wide geographical area. All calves were visited twice about 2 to 3 weeks apart, when they were clinically examined and faecal samples were collected. The calves were treated with 7.5 mg/kg of a locally-available albendazole drench on the first visit, and pre- and post- treatment trichostrongyle and Toxocara faecal egg counts were performed using a modified McMaster method. Our clinical findings point towards a generally poor level of animal health, implying a role of ticks and tick-transmitted diseases in village calves and need for improvement in neonatal calf husbandry in the dairy co-operative holdings. High faecal trichostrongyle egg counts were not intuitive, based on our interpretation of the animal management information that was provided. This shows the need for better understanding of nematode parasite epidemiology within the context of local husbandry and environmental conditions. The albendazole anthelmintic was effective against Toxocara, while efficacy against trichostrongyle nematodes was poor in both village and dairy co-operative calves, demonstrating the need for further research to inform sustainable drug use. Here we describe the potential value of faecal nematode egg counting as a platform for communicating with and gaining access to cattle keepers and their animals, respectively, in southern Malawi, with the aim of providing informative background knowledge and understanding that may aid in the establishment of effective veterinary services in an under-resourced community.

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The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 4 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 59 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 59 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 11 19%
Student > Master 9 15%
Student > Bachelor 5 8%
Researcher 4 7%
Student > Doctoral Student 3 5%
Other 3 5%
Unknown 24 41%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine 9 15%
Medicine and Dentistry 5 8%
Engineering 3 5%
Social Sciences 3 5%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 3 5%
Other 10 17%
Unknown 26 44%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 5. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 01 November 2022.
All research outputs
#6,755,994
of 25,382,440 outputs
Outputs from Irish Veterinary Journal
#52
of 257 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#100,684
of 331,648 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Irish Veterinary Journal
#1
of 9 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,382,440 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 73rd percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 257 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.7. This one has done well, scoring higher than 79% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 331,648 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 69% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 9 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than all of them