Authors: Tyson Fiona, Dalesman Sarah, Brophy Peter M, Morphew Russell M
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Faecal egg counting remains essential for evidence-based parasite management in horses, yet uptake among owners remains suboptimal—partly because traditional methods require laboratory facilities and expertise. Researchers compared the FECPAKG2, a field-friendly kit designed for livestock that enables owners to perform counts remotely with expert interpretation, against the established FECPAKG1 reference method using 79 horses from Wales and New Zealand across a range of infection intensities. The G2 method demonstrated strong correlation with the control method (p < 0.001) with mean accuracy of 101 ± 4%, and performance was consistent regardless of geographical origin or worm burden level. If the FECPAKG2's accessibility translates to increased pre-treatment testing amongst horse owners, this could meaningfully reduce selective pressure for anthelmintic resistance at both individual and population levels—a critical consideration given resistance prevalence in equine nematode populations.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Horse owners can now perform reliable faecal egg counts themselves using FECPAKG2 without microscopes or specialist expertise, potentially increasing uptake of pre-treatment testing
- •The FECPAKG2 provides results equivalent to traditional methods, making it suitable for both direct owner use and veterinary practice implementation
- •Wider adoption of FEC testing through user-friendly methods like FECPAKG2 may help slow development of anthelmintic resistance in equine nematode populations
Key Findings
- •FECPAKG2 method showed significant correlation with FECPAKG1 (accepted equine FEC method) across 79 horses (p < 0.001)
- •Mean accuracy of G2 method was 101 ± 4% compared to control values, indicating no systematic bias
- •Country of origin (Wales vs New Zealand) had no significant effect on results (p = 0.157)
- •Accuracy of G2 method was not affected by infection intensity level (p = 0.124), validating its use across different parasite burdens