-
Targeted selective supplementation for goat parasite control
Targeted selective supplementation with local plants cut anthelmintic use by 54 percent on Malawi goat smallholdings without hurting growth or kidding outcomes. Farmers scored each goat every two weeks with the Five Point Check and fed 250 g of Commiphora africana, Ficus ingens, or Gmelina arborea per day for five days only to borderline or sick animals. Sick goats still received albendazole, and the combination cleared parasites faster than the drug alone. Why gastrointestinal nematodes hit smallholder goats so hard Stomach and intestinal worms, known as gastrointestinal nematodes or GINs, are the largest parasitic drain on small ruminant production, and smallholder goat farming carries the worst of it. They do…
-
Povidone-Iodine for Musculoskeletal Hydatid Cysts: A Function-Saving Alternative to Wide Excision
Most people have never heard of hydatid disease, and that’s exactly why it’s dangerous. It’s a slow, quiet parasitic infection that can sit in your body for years before it shows up as a lump, a dull ache, or a swelling that just won’t quit. When it lands in muscle or bone, the standard move is to take the whole cyst out in one piece. But sometimes that simply isn’t safe. A growing stack of clinical experience points to a gentler option: open the cyst, drain it, and rinse the cavity with povidone-iodine to kill what’s left. This piece covers what musculoskeletal hydatid disease is, why the usual surgery sometimes…
