Grazing systems have great potential to promote animal welfare by allowing animals to express natural behaviours, but they also present risks to the animals. Diseases caused by gastrointestinal nematodes are some of the most important causes of poor ruminant health and welfare in grazing systems and cause important economic losses. Reduced growth, health, reproduction and fitness, and negative affective states that indicate suffering are some of the negative effects on welfare in animals infected by gastrointestinal nematode parasitism. Conventional forms of control are based on anthelmintics, but their growing inefficiency due to resistance to many drugs, their potential for contamination of soil and products, and negative public opinion indicate an urgency to seek alternatives. We can learn to deal with these challenges by observing biological aspects of the parasite and the host’s behaviour to develop managements that have a multidimensional view that vary in time and space. Improving animal welfare in the context of the parasitic challenge in grazing systems should be seen as a priority to ensure the sustainability of livestock production. Among the measures to control gastrointestinal nematodes and increase animal welfare in grazing systems are the management and decontamination of pastures, offering multispecies pastures, and grazing strategies such as co-grazing with other species that have different grazing behaviours, rotational grazing with short grazing periods, and improved nutrition. Genetic selection to improve herd or flock parasite resistance to gastrointestinal nematode infection may also be incorporated into a holistic control plan, aiming at a substantial reduction in the use of anthelmintics and endectocides to make grazing systems more sustainable.

This study aimed at evaluating parasitological and blood variables in native breed Crioula Lanada sheep belonging to the same herd, to identify and compare susceptible or resistant individuals to gastrointestinal nematodes during gestation and lactation phases. For this purpose, 18 Crioula sheep were used within 2 years of evaluation, in which blood and feces samples and weight of the animals were taken from their 4th month of gestation until the weaning of their lambs, in the 4th month postpartum. Feces samples were used for counting eggs per gram of feces (EPG) and, thus, to identify 12 resistant ewes (EPG < 1,000) and 6 susceptible (EPG > 1,000) to gastrointestinal nematodes. The identification of infective larvae was also performed. Blood was used for analysis of packed cell volume (PCV), eosinophil count, total plasma protein, and immunoglobulin G level against Haemonchus contortus infective larvae. The Kruskal–Wallis non-parametric comparison test was used to evaluate the differences between days of parturition and linear mixed-effects model using package lme4 in R to evaluate the groups. The main parasite species observed in the feces samples were Haemonchus, Trichostrongylus, Oesophagostomum, Ostertagia, and Cooperia in similar proportions in both groups. Susceptible ewes presented peaks of EPG at the beginning of lactation and lower PCV values throughout the study. No difference between groups was observed concerning other blood variables or body weight, but some changes were observed along with the gestation and lactation phases within each group. The physiological response of sheep to nematode infection is a useful tool to identify the most susceptible individuals within the same breed and herd and to select the most genetically resistant individuals.

Resumo Este artigo tem por objetivo aprofundar o debate sobre a insegurança alimentar durante a pandemia da Covid-19, relatar a iniciativa social extensionista do Plantio Agroecológico Solidário (PAS) da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina e o consequente impacto no acesso e distribuição de alimentos orgânicos em Florianópolis, SC, Brasil. No contexto da crise sanitária, com mais de 645.000 mortos por Covid-19 no Brasil, aliada à crise econômica, acentuaram-se as desigualdades sociais que aprofundaram o cenário de fome no país. O atual cenário pandêmico indica um momento singular para que a nossa sociedade possa repensar o direito global ao acesso a alimentos saudáveis e sobre qual modelo de agricultura se espera fomentar. A agricultura agroecológica é um modelo viável e necessário para a produção digna e consciente de alimentos, fornecendo mecanismos para a promoção da Soberania e Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional, através da democratização ao acesso a alimentos saudáveis e sem agrotóxicos.

Background Cochliomyia hominivorax is the major fly causing primary myiasis in livestock animals in Brazil; its larvae develop in the host's living tissues, causing mutilations, which can even lead to death. In conventional treatments of myiasis, chemo-synthetic insecticides have been employed directly on larvae present in the wounds. Homeopathy may represent a healthy and sustainable alternative both to prevent and to treat myiasis in animals and humans. The current study evaluated how the emergence of adult insects is affected by the use of the homeopathic medicines Sulfur 12cH and Pyrogenium 12cH, and the nosode produced from C. hominivorax larvae at potencies 8cH and 12cH, on third-stage larvae of a C. hominivorax colony. Materials and Methods The homeopathic medicines and the nosodes were produced according to the Brazilian Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia. Control groups were distilled water, alcohol, no substance, and the organophosphate insecticide trichlorfon. For each group, 10 replicates were performed. Emergence rate of adult insects was evaluated by descriptive statistics followed by analysis of variance. Homogeneity of variances was verified by F-test and group means were compared with Tukey's test. Results Mortality rates in control groups were 2.7% for 30% (v/v) alcohol, 4.3% for distilled water, 3.2% for no substance (p > 0.05). In the trichlorfon group, the mortality rate of larvae was 90.8%. For Sulfur 12cH, the mortality of larvae was 94.6%, and for Pyrogenium 12cH it was 98.6%. The latter three means were not statistically different from each other or from the mean found for the trichlorfon group. The mortality rates of larvae were 61.3% and 66.6% for nosode C. hominivorax 8cH and 12cH, respectively (p > 0.05). Conclusions Results suggest that homeopathy could be used therapeutically to prevent and treat animals and humans with myiasis caused by C. hominivorax. • The homeopathic medicines Sulfur 12cH and Pyrogenium 12cH produced inhibitory effects on the development of larvae of the fly C. hominivorax. • The effect on C. hominivorax larvae of homeopathic medicines was as intense as that of an organophosphate insecticide. • Homeopathy could be used as a tool in the control of myiasis caused by C. hominivorax in agro-ecological production systems.

In order to identify types of forage that inhibit pasture contamination, an evaluation was performed of the effect of the forage legumesTrifolium repens(white clover),Trifolium pratense(red clover) andLotus corniculatus(bird's-foot-trefoil) on the survival and migration of infective larvae (L3) of gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) of sheep. An experimental area of 441 m²was divided into four blocks, subdivided into areas of 1.20 × 1.20 in which the three forage legumes were separately overseeded. After growth of the forage in each subdivision, experimental units were established that were later artificially contaminated with sheep faeces containing GIN eggs. Between October and December 2018, pasture, faecal and soil samples were collected on four occasions during weeks 1, 2, 4 and 8 after the deposition of faeces. In week 6, the forage legumes in all the experimental units were mown to simulate grazing. The number of L3 was quantified to determine their survival in the pasture, faeces and soil. In addition, the horizontal migration of L3 was measured at two distances from the faecal pellets (10 and 30 cm), as well as their vertical migration at two heights of the plant stems, that is, lower half and upper half. Larvae vertical migration was affected by the forage species (P< 0.001), in that bird's-foot-trefoil contained fewer larvae in the upper stratum. Bird's-foot-trefoil restricted the migration of L3 to the upper stratum of the plant, which could potentially decrease the risk of infection by intestinal nematodes in grazing sheep.

In Brazil, dogs and cats have free access in public areas in some cities, such as squares, parks and beaches, despite restrictive laws for their permanence in these places. Animals infected with intestinal parasites contaminate the environment through their feces. The present study aimed to verify the occurrence of helminth eggs, oocysts and protozoan cysts in stool samples from three beaches in Greater Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil, from March 2017 to April 2018. Stool samples were processed by the Willis-Mollay flotation technique and the Hoffman sedimentation technique. The percentage of 47.65% of positive samples for helminths or protozoa was found on the southern beaches of Florianópolis island, with an occurrence of 52.78% at Morro das Pedras Beach and 42.86% at Campeche Beach. At Pinheira beach, in Palhoça, 56.66% of the samples were contaminated with one or more zoonotic parasites. In this study, the most prevalent parasites on the three beaches analyzed were hookworms and Trichuris vulpis, followed by Giardia spp. and Cystoisospora spp. Samples containing Toxocara spp. eggs were collected at Pinheira beach. It is concluded that the contamination of the beaches in the present study constitutes a public health problem, considering the possibility of zoonoses transmission. The importance of implementing sanitary programs for the control of parasites in dogs and cats is emphasized, as well as awareness and education programs, in order to reduce environmental contamination in public places.