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Alpaca Owner Survey of Anthelmintic Use

Monthly injectable avermectin-class dewormers are used to prevent disease from meningeal worm in many camelid farms. This routine use raises concerns about anthelmintic (dewormer) resistance by gastrointestinal nematodes, such as Hemonchus, Nematodirus and others. The effect of routine use of injectable avermectin drugs on anthelmintic resistance in gastrointestinal parasites has not been systematically studied.

The specific aims of this study are:

To identify alpaca herds using monthly, parenteral avermectin-class dewormers to control meningeal worm and herds not using this method of prevention.
To determine the gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) burden of these herds and the anthelmintic susceptibility profile of those GIN.
1.Farm owner's name
2.Email address
3.Phone number
4.What species of camelids do you own?
5.How many llamas do you own?
6.How many alpacas do you own?
7.How many vicuna do you own?
8.How many guanaco do you own?
9.How many hybrid species do you own?
10.How many years has your camelid herd been established at its current location?
11.What is the zip code where your farm is located?
12.Have you ever had a diagnosed or suspected a case of meningeal worm in your herd? If so, how many?
13.How was it diagnosed?
14.Do you currently use ivermectin (Ivomec or generic) as a monthly injection to prevent meningeal worm in your herd?
15.Do you currently use doramectin (Dectomax) as a monthly injection to prevent meningeal worm?
16.If you are not currently using injectable ivermectin or doramectin to control meningeal worm in your herd, did you previously?
17.If you previously used injectable ivermectin or doramectin, how long ago did you stop that treatment?
18.What was your reason for stopping the use of injectable ivermectin or doramectin for meningeal worm control?
19.Do you use any other methods (drugs, environmental changes, natural remedies) to control meningeal worm?
20.If you use or have used other non-drug methods of control for meningeal worm, what were those?
21.Do you routinely have fecal examinations performed on your herd at a laboratory?
22.What type of fecal exam do you have performed?
23.Has your herd experienced problems related to Hemonchus (barber pole worm) or other gastrointestinal worms?
24.If you have had problems related to gastrointestinal nematodes, what treatment(s) have you used or are you currently using?
25.Would you be willing, if selected, to have veterinarians come to your farm to collect fecal samples for parasite testing at no charge to you? Results would be made available to you for your use.
We sincerely appreciate your participation in this survey. We believe this study will provide valuable information to the camelid industry. If you have any questions about the study, please contact Dr. Meredyth Jones at meredyjo@ttu.edu Thank you!