Southwest Virginia Research Articles

Reliving it All Over Again: Uncanny Temporalities of Injection Drug Use and Hepatitis C Diagnosis in Southwest Virginia, USA

ABSTRACT Clinicians typically view the intersection between hepatitis C and injection drug use in terms of simultaneity – with transmission occurring via shared needles – or sequentially – with some states requiring that people stop using drugs prior to treatment. Yet, for patients, the connection between substance use and HCV infection can follow a more complex temporal pathway. In this article, we explore the non-linear temporality of “reliving” as it shapes HCV illness experience, its complex intersection with injection drug use, and the barriers patients face as they reckon with existing healthcare system responses and treatment modalities.

Location-specific demand forecasting for park and ride lots: The use of models in practice

The management of hundreds of Virginia park and ride lots requires substantial public investment, and forecasting their demand helps agencies use scarce resources to improve multimodal mobility. Unfortunately, direct application of existing demand estimation approaches yielded errors typically 14 to 141 times the mean occupancy of a lot. Accordingly, this paper reports on the development of 19 regional models that yielded an average demand forecasting error of 0.56 times the mean occupancy.Because of Virginia’s geographic diversity, the most appropriate forecasting technique varies by region: in some cases, the key step is to group lots by commuting boundary or population density; in other cases, diverse socioeconomic variables (e.g., population, commuting distance, rent relative to income); facility-specific variables (e.g., transit availability, lighting); or traffic characteristics (e.g., volume on the road serving the lot, highest roadway volume within 2.5 miles) were needed to improve model performance. Ultimately, such variables explained on average 76% of the variation in lot demand. In practice, the results demonstrated the necessity of regional calibration: in rural southwest Virginia, for instance, the only key determinants of demand were the number of commuters living near a lot and having a job more than 50 miles away. In the more urban area that encompasses the state capital (Richmond), the two determinants were traffic volume and congestion levels. Although the models themselves are not transferrable, the methodology underlying their development can be used by other agencies as the data and techniques are publicly available.

Differences in Final /z/ Realization in Southwest and Northern Virginia

Two apparently contradictory observations have been made about consonantal voicing in Southern U.S. English: compared to other U.S. varieties, Southern speakers produce more voicing on “voiced” stops, but they also “devoice” word-final /z/ at higher rates. In this article, regional differences in final /z/ realization within Virginia are investigated. Thirty-six students from Southwest and Northern Virginia were recorded completing tasks designed to elicit /z/-final tokens. Tokens were acoustically analyzed for duration and voicing; they were also automatically categorized as being [z] or [s] using an HTK forced aligner. At the surface level, the two approaches yield incompatible results: the single acoustic measures suggest that the Southwest Virginians produce more [z]-like /z/ tokens than the Northern Virginians, and the aligner finds that the Southern-identifying participants produce the most [s]-like tokens. However, both analyses converge on the importance of following environment: the Southwest Virginians are relatively least voiced prepausally and more voiced in other environments. These combined findings confirm previous work showing that Southern “voiced” consonants generally have more voicing than other regional U.S. varieties but also suggest that the dialect may exhibit greater phrase-final fortition. There are also differences within Southwest Virginian speakers based on differences in their rurality or in their orientation to the South.

Inferring Community Resilience through the Accessibility of Goods Delivery

This study analyzed community resiliency by evaluating access to essential delivery services before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from October 2020 to September 2021 in a stated-preference survey about delivery services in Southwest Virginia. A significantly larger proportion of respondents without vehicle access relied on third-party restaurant app delivery use than those with a vehicle. Compared to more urban areas, respondents who lived in rural locations were three times more unsatisfied with delivery services due to a lack of accessibility to stores and delivery options.

Bottled and Well Water Quality in a Small Central Appalachian Community: Household-Level Analysis of Enteric Pathogens, Inorganic Chemicals, and Health Outcomes in Rural Southwest Virginia.

Consumption of unsafe drinking water is associated with a substantial burden of disease globally. In the US, ~1.8 million people in rural areas lack reliable access to safe drinking water. Our objective was to characterize and assess household-level water sources, water quality, and associated health outcomes in Central Appalachia. We collected survey data and water samples (tap, source, and bottled water) from consenting households in a small rural community without utility-supplied water in southwest Virginia. Water samples were analyzed for physicochemical parameters, total coliforms, E. coli, nitrate, sulfate, metals (e.g., arsenic, cadmium, lead), and 30+ enteric pathogens. Among the 69% (n = 9) of households that participated, all had piped well water, though 67% (n = 6) used bottled water as their primary drinking water source. Total coliforms were detected in water samples from 44.4% (n = 4) of homes, E. coli in one home, and enteric pathogens (Aeromonas, Campylobacter, Enterobacter) in 33% (n = 3) of homes. Tap water samples from 11% (n = 1) of homes exceeded the EPA MCL for nitrate, and 33% (n = 3) exceeded the EPA SMCL for iron. Among the 19 individuals residing in study households, reported diarrhea was 25% more likely in homes with measured E. coli and/or specific pathogens (risk ratio = 1.25, cluster-robust standard error = 1.64, p = 0.865). Although our sample size was small, our findings suggest that a considerable number of lower-income residents without utility-supplied water in rural areas of southwest Virginia may be exposed to microbiological and/or chemical contaminants in their water, and many, if not most, rely on bottled water as their primary source of drinking water.

Effect of text message communication on patient presentation for an influenza vaccination in a community-based pharmacy setting

BackgroundCommunity pharmacies use text message communications for information regarding approaching refills and fill status. Patients can also be notified regarding annual influenza vaccine availability and schedule an appointment for the vaccine. ObjectivesThis study aimed to evaluate whether text message communications affected patient presentation and resulted in a percent increase of patients receiving an influenza vaccine compared with previous vaccine season and to determine whether additional vaccines are administered upon presentation. MethodsAmbidirectional study retrospectively analyzed the impact, nationally, of a new text message communication on influenza vaccinations at a large community pharmacy chain and prospectively surveyed patients receiving an influenza vaccine at 2 geographically similar pharmacies of the chain in Southwest Virginia. Text message communications regarding vaccine and appointment availability were sent to patients at the age of 18 years and older who opted in to text message communications and received an influenza vaccine with the chain during the 2019-2020 influenza season. Vaccine data from consecutive seasons were compared. Eligible patients in Southwest Virginia were surveyed about how they were informed about availability, previous intent to receive an influenza vaccine, applicability to other vaccines, and effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on vaccination. Results were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate analyses. ResultsNationally, influenza vaccines administered increased by 17.45% in patients who permitted text message communication and overall by 13.22% after implementation. Decreases in co-administered pneumococcal vaccines and tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis vaccines and an increase in co-administered zoster vaccines were observed. A total of 111 patients were surveyed; 4% presented owing to text message communication. A majority were intent on receiving the vaccine before being notified and reported that the pandemic did not affect presentation. Notably, 45.05% of patients were likely to receive routine vaccines if notified by text message. ConclusionText message communications are another viable way to increase vaccinations, but further studies should be conducted outside of a pandemic setting.

1490-PUB: Nutritional Deficiencies in Persons with Diabetes in Southwest Virginia

Introduction: Nutritional factors are associated with diabetes development and control. In addition to carbohydrate excess, other dietary contributions are decreased magnesium and fiber intake. Magnesium deficiency is related to beta cell dysfunction. Decreased dietary fiber intake is implicated in poor glycemic control. The intake of both fiber and magnesium among those with diabetes is not well known. This study provides objective data on the diet content of adults with diabetes in our area of Roanoke, VA where an estimated 11.6 % of the population has diabetes. Methods: 33 adult volunteers with diabetes recorded their food intake over 24 hours via access to the Automated Self-Administered 24-hour (ASA24®) dietary assessment tool. Macro and micronutrient intakes were calculated with reference intakes provided by RDA guidelines. The lowest reference intake was used to calculate pooled comparison for all ages by gender. P-values were calculated using one-sample t tests comparing sample averages with reference values. Logistic Regressions were used to evaluate the effect of age and sex on outcome. Results: The nutritional content of our participants with diabetes did not meet RDA guidelines with no significant age or sex differences between groups. Total calories were 2314 for men and 1862 for women. Carbohydrate intake exceeded the ADA recommended amount in 83 % of men (218g/d) and 67 % of women (196g/d) (p<0.01) . In addition, 83% of men and 76% of women did not meet recommended magnesium intake, averaging 314 ± 166 mg/d for men (p<0.05) and 264 ± 83 mg/d for women (p<0.01) . Finally, 100% of men and 90% of women did not meet reference fiber intake, averaging ± 9 g/d for men (p<0.01) and 14 ± 7 g/d for women. (p<0.01) . Conclusion: In addition to excessive carbohydrates, magnesium and fiber intake were significantly deficient among our population of patients with diabetes. These results may help to tailor diet interventions in future investigations for more directed nutrition approaches to improve glycemic control. Disclosure K. Mustafa: None. K. Jones: None. Funding Carilion Clinic RAPDiabetes Nutrition Study IRB 21-1307

Documenting Emerging Insects, Environmental DNA, and Metal Concentrations in a Small Appalachian Stream

Accurately documenting aquatic insects is of the utmost importance given recent proposals for a paradigm shift in conservation to protect less-charismatic species that are necessary for ecosystem functioning. We used both field techniques and molecular methods to assess biodiversity in a stream in southwest Virginia. We used emergence traps to collect organisms that emerged from the stream as reproducing adults over a 4-week period and collected environmental samples (e.g., water, sediment) to sequence the DNA found in the samples. Emerging aquatic insect abundance, richness, and diversity increased over time. More family richness was detected using environmental DNA (eDNA) than traditional field sampling; however, many families detected using field techniques were not recovered using eDNA, furthering support that both protocols are necessary for fully documenting biodiversity. We did not have much success in identifying eDNA sequences to species with high sequence similarity, suggesting that invertebrate biodiversity of southwest Virginia is not well-documented in open-source DNA sequence databases. In addition to documenting insect biodiversity, we measured the levels of heavy metals in the stream sediment. Sediment values for cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury and lead were within regulatory limits and were not significantly correlated with biodiversity measures.

Evaluation of terminal sire breeds for hair sheep production systems: Feedlot environment

Improving carcass merit while maintaining parasite resistance in Katahdin crossbred lambs has potential to improve profitability for U.S. sheep producers. To assess crossbred lamb parasite resistance, carcass merit and gain, purebred Katahdin ewes from the Southwest Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center (Glade Spring, VA) were mated to Katahdin (KT), Suffolk (SU) or Texel (TX) rams for three years. Lambs were born and raised in Virginia. Two weeks post-weaning, lambs were transported to the West Virginia University Animal Science Farm (Morgantown, WV). Lambs were dewormed and transitioned to a complete pellet (16% CP) and fed ad lib for the duration of the study. After transition, all lambs were infected with 10,000 Haemonchus contortus L3 larvae (HcL3) in suspension given orally. Weights, blood and fecal samples were collected weekly. After a 5 week primary infection, all lambs were treated with levamisole (8 mg/kg) and rested for 2–3 weeks, after which, lambs were challenge infected with 10,000 HcL3 and sampled weekly until slaughter endpoint in Years 1&2. Ultrasonic determination of REA and fat depth occurred 1 week prior to slaughter in Years 1&2. In Year 3 carcass evaluation did not occur and ultrasonic measurements were taken at termination of the trial. In Years 1&2, 5 lambs from each sire group (n = 15) were randomly selected for carcass analysis at the Virginia Tech Meats Laboratory. No significant sire effect differences were observed in FEC during primary infections across all 3 years. Fecal egg count of KT lambs peaked at week 6 during challenge infection but reduced FEC rapidly one week later. SU-sired lambs grew faster to a larger body weight than TX sired lambs (55.72 kg vs. 49.51 kg; 0.37 kg/d vs. 0.32 kg/d, P < 0.0001), with KT progeny having the least amount of weight gain (44.8 kg; 0.30 kg/d). Analysis of REA using ultrasound and live carcass measurements exhibited no difference between SU- (16.92 cm2) or TX-sired lambs (17.10 cm2) but both breeds were significantly higher than Katahdin lambs (13.67 cm2;P < 0.01). Leg score favored SU- (11.8) and TX-sired (12.0) lambs compared to KT-sired lambs (10.7;P < 0.01). Feed efficiency measured in RFI showed no significant difference between KT-, SU- or TX sired lambs (−0.08, 0.04, −0.04 kg/d respectively; P = 0.65). Taken together these data demonstrate that carcass merit of TX-sired lambs is equivalent to SU-sired lambs supporting the option of using an alternative terminal sire on Katahdin ewes without detrimental loss of parasite resistance in crossbred progeny.

Dusty &amp; Digital Media Literacy Workshops

Digging in the Crates: Hip Hop Studies at Virginia Tech, or VTDITC, is a pedagogical model that exists to foster a sense of community among artists, fans, and scholars. Based in our campus’ main library, we hope to model that students’ and community members’ personal interests are worthy of academic study and further establish Hip Hop Studies’ presence at Virginia Tech, the academy, and in the larger community. To that end, the VTDITC community has designed, taught, and assessed more than 150 community-based media literacy workshops over the past half decade. We have demonstrated, explained, and created opportunities for a wide variety of learners to experience the science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics inherent to the hip hop culture. We have learned alongside a diversity of audiences—from elementary school children to adults. To name just a few of our partner organizations, we have worked with the 4H Virginia Congress, the Boys &amp; Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia, Higher Achievement, Inc., a variety of public libraries including our regular collaborator Roanoke Public Libraries, the Science Museum of Western Virginia, Virginia’s Summer Residential Governor's School for Humanities, and the West End Center for Youth. In our contribution to The Global Drumbeat: Permeations of Hip Hop across Diverse Information Worlds, we will outline and explain an example lesson plan from one of our workshops. We will provide our learning outcomes as well as our assessment plan. Additionally, we will detail the theoretical underpinnings and guiding principles that inform our pedagogical decision making. Our workshops take a hands-on, practitioner-minded, and co-creation approach to teaching media literacy. Inasmuch, this contribution will also provide a recommended list of music creation equipment and other appropriate classroom technology that will accommodate a variety of budgets. Furthermore, we will include several promising practices and recommendations gained from more than 50 years of collective experience creating hip hop music and 10 years of collective experience teaching the hip hop arts. Our hope is that this contribution will inspire other library workers and educators to remix our workshops to suit the needs of their communities.

(PO-171) A Descriptive Analysis of Pharmacological Management of Aggression and/or Agitation in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury in a Southwest Virginia Inpatient Population

(PO-171) A Descriptive Analysis of Pharmacological Management of Aggression and/or Agitation in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury in a Southwest Virginia Inpatient Population

Time to Reconsider Hepatitis A Vaccination in Food Handlers: Are We Seeing More Outbreaks and Severe Disease?

The risk for secondary infection from hepatitis A-infected food handlers to patrons is deemed as low. Thus, hepatitis A vaccination is not specifically recommended for persons who handle food in the absence of other risk factors in the United States. We describe an ongoing food handler-associated hepatitis A outbreak in southwest Virginia and recommend policy changes that will incentivize food industry employers to embrace broader food handler hepatitis A vaccination.

Pathogen Spillover to an Invasive Tick Species: First Detection of Bourbon Virus in Haemaphysalis longicornis in the United States.

Haemaphysalis longicornis (Neumann, 1901) (Acari: Ixodidae), the Asian longhorned tick, is an invasive tick species present in the USA since at least 2017 and has been detected in one-third of Virginia counties. While this species is associated with the transmission of multiple pathogens in its native geographical range of eastern Asia, little is known about its ability to acquire and transmit pathogens in the USA, specifically those that are transmissible to humans, although from an animal health perspective, it has already been shown to vector Theileria orientalis Ikeda strains. Emerging tick-borne viruses such as Bourbon virus (genus: Thogotovirus) are of concern, as these newly discovered pathogenic agents have caused fatal clinical cases, and little is known about their distribution or enzootic maintenance. This study examined H. longicornis collected within Virginia (from ten counties) for Bourbon and Heartland viruses using PCR methods. All ticks tested negative for Heartland virus via qRT-PCR (S segment target). Bourbon-virus-positive samples were confirmed on two different gene targets and with Sanger sequencing of the PB2 (segment 1) gene. Bourbon virus RNA was detected in one nymphal stage H. longicornis from Patrick County, one nymph from Staunton City, and one larval pool and one adult female tick from Wythe County, Virginia. An additional 100 Amblyomma americanum (Linnaeus 1758; lone star tick) collected at the same Patrick County site revealed one positive nymphal pool, suggesting that Bourbon virus may have spilled over from the native vector, potentially by co-feeding on a shared Bourbon-virus-infected vertebrate host. Blood tested from local harvested deer revealed a 11.1% antibody seroprevalence against Bourbon virus, exposure which further corroborates that this tick-borne virus is circulating in the southwest Virginia region. Through these results, it can be concluded that H. longicornis can carry Bourbon virus and that pathogen spillover may occur from native to invasive tick species.

Socializing the evidence for diabetes control to develop "Mindlines": A qualitative pilot study.

Context: Evidence on specific interventions to improve diabetes control in primary care is available, but this evidence is not always well-implemented. The concept of "mindlines" has been proposed to explain how clinicians integrate evidence using specifics of their practices and patients to produce knowledge-in-practice-in-context. Objective: We designed a pilot study to operationalize the "mindlines" concept by creating a venue for clinician-staff interaction concerning evidence. We attempted to hold "mindlines"-producing conversations in primary care practices about evidence to improve diabetes control. Study design and Analysis: Qualitative analysis of recordings of facilitated practice-wide conversations and field notes. Setting: 4 primary care practices in a health system in southwest Virginia. Population Studied: Clinicians, nurses, medical assistants, and clerical staff in primary care practices. Intervention: In each of four primary care practices in a single health system, we held a practice-wide conversation about a simple diabetes intervention model over a provided lunch. We attempted to keep the conversation relatively informal and encouraged participation from all. We recorded the conversations and took field notes. Outcome Measures: We analyzed the data using a framework adapted from the "mindlines" research and noted additional emerging themes. We also analyzed practice average proportions of controlled glycated hemoglobin levels in diabetic patients. Results: While most of the conversation concerned barriers to implementation of the simple diabetes intervention model, we noted examples of practices adopting and adapting the evidence to suit their own needs and context, consistent with the fundamentals of the "mindlines" model. Performance metrics regarding diabetes control for the four practices improved after the intervention. Conclusions: It appears that the type of conversations that "mindlines" research describes can be generated with facilitation around evidence, but further research is required to better understand the limitations and impact of this intervention.

Does de-implementation of low value care impact the patient-clinician relationship? A mixed methods study.

Context: In the U.S., provision of LVC is prevalent (up to 20% of total health services), costly ($350 billion annually), and associated with patient harm. Concern about a negative impact on the patient-clinician relationship has been cited by primary care clinicians as a barrier to reducing LVC. Study Design: Mixed-methods study. Participants completed the Patient-Doctor Relationship Questionnaire (PDRQ-9) after reading one of three vignettes about a clinician declining to provide a requested LVC service (antibiotics for sinusitis, screening EKG, or screening vitamin D test) or a comparison vignette. A different sample of participants was asked to imagine that their own clinician did not order requested antibiotics or screening EKG and then to respond to structured interview questions about satisfaction and trust. Setting: Primary care patients of a southwest Virginia health system. Population: Adults (n= 232 questionnaire/n= 24 interview). Outcome Measures: Participant demographics data, PDRQ-9 score for each vignette (higher score = greater relationship integrity), and thematic analysis of interview responses. Results: Among questionnaire participants, a lower PDRQ-9 score was associated with the vignette about not providing LVC vitamin D screening (31.2) compared with antibiotics (38.9), EKG screening (37.5), and the comparison vignette (36.4) (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant, but weak, correlation between education and PDRQ-9 score (r=0.2, p<0.01). More than half of interviewees believed that their satisfaction and trust would not be negatively impacted by not receiving the LVC service, citing the strength of their relationship with their clinician and faith in their guidance. Some even felt that not providing the service would increase their satisfaction and trust. Participants who believed their satisfaction and trust may be impacted seemed to recognize the complexity of the scenario, discussing medical necessity, potential harm, insurance, and the option to go elsewhere (ex: urgent care or a new doctor). However, most emphasized that negative impacts could be mitigated if the clinician listened to them, spent time with them, and offered understandable advice. Conclusions: Findings emphasize prioritization of the patient-clinician relationship in LVC de-implementation interventions and suggest minimal impact of such interventions on the patient-clinician relationship. Evidence of service-specific differences was observed.

Pathogen prevalence in Amblyomma americanum and Ixodes scapularis ticks from central Appalachian Virginia, U.S.A.

Ticks are known vectors of several viral, bacterial, and protozoal pathogens that cause disease in both humans and animals. While pathogen prevalence has been studied extensively in other portions of the United States, pathogen surveillance studies within tick populations in the central Appalachian region of Virginia is almost nonexistent. Two prominent species in this region are Ixodes scapularis (the blacklegged tick) and Amblyomma americanum (the lone star tick). In this study, we collected ticks biweekly from three habitat types (forest, urban, and pasture) across eight counties in southwest Virginia from June, 2019-November, 2020. Ixodes scapularis and A. americanum captures were screened for evidence of associated tick-borne pathogens. In this region, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (15.3% in nymphs and 37.6% in adults), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (1.9% in nymphs and 12.2% in adults), and Borrelia miyamotoi (2.97% in nymphs and 2.33% in adults) were detected in I. scapularis ticks. Aside from two previously reported Powassan-positive I. scapularis ticks from Floyd County, VA, no additional Powassan-positive ticks are reported here. No evidence of Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Heartland virus (HRTV), or Bourbon virus (BRBV) was detected in collected A. americanum. Detection and confirmation of multiple emerging tick-borne pathogens in this region raises an increased concern for public health risk, calling for heightened awareness of tick-borne pathogen transmission and increased tick surveillance in understudied areas.

86 Evaluation of the Super Smartfeeder System (C-Lock, Inc) for Lamb Supplemental Feeding in a Pasture-based System

Abstract The C-Lock, Inc Super SmartFeeder (feeder) may provide opportunities to evaluate lamb supplemental feeding behavior on pasture. The objective of this study was to determine lamb feeding capacity, lamb feeding behavior, and methodologies for training lambs to this feeding system. Post-weaning, lambs (n = 179) were introduced to the feeder (day 0) on fescue-based pasture at the Southwest Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center. For 24 days, lambs were supplemented 0.23 kg/hd/day with the feeder on pasture. To transition lambs to the feeder, additional standard trough feeders were provided until day 10 starting at 0.45 kg/hd/day and decreasing to 0.15 kg/hd/day. Feeder data were analyzed using SAS for feeding frequency traits to assess feeding capacity and efficacy of training methodology. During days 9-16 and days 17-24, a greater percentage of lambs ate between 12 AM and 6 AM compared to days 0-8 (65 and 63%, respectively, vs. 26%; P &amp;lt; 0.05). During days 0-8, a greater percentage of lambs ate between 6 AM and 12 PM compared to days 9-16 and days 17-24 (47% vs. 23 and 10%, respectively; P &amp;lt; 0.05). A greater percentage of lambs visited the feeder 17 or more days compared to 16 or less days (59 vs. 41%; P &amp;lt; 0.05). During days 0-5, the percentage of lambs visiting the feeder daily varied between 30 and 80%. After being exposed to the feeder for 6 days, daily lamb feeding behavior only varied between 64% and 78%. A greater consistency in the proportion of lambs visiting the feeder after a 6 day acclimation period indicated successful training to the feeder. On average over the 18 days of consistent feeder visits, 72% of lambs visited the feeder daily. Therefore, maximum carrying capacity of this feeding system should not exceed 120-125 lambs.

125 Utilization of Performance-tested and NSIP Sires Improved Progeny Performance and Value in Ram Test Program

Abstract Sire selection can have long-term impacts on flock performance. The objective here was to evaluate the effect of performance-tested and/or NSIP rams on progeny performance and value in a ram test program. Rams (Katahdin = 104, Dorper = 7, Texel = 3, Cheviot = 3) were delivered to the Southwest Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center (SWAREC) Ram Test on June 1. Ram pedigrees were obtained from consignors and rams were classified based on whether their sires were tested in a previous SWAREC Ram Test (TESTED), enrolled in the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP), or neither TESTED nor NSIP (NEITHER). Some sires (16%) were previously tested and enrolled in NSIP. Rams were dewormed and rested for two weeks. On June 22, rams were given Haemonchus contortus larvae adjusted for body weight (average = 5000 L3). FAMACHA scores and fecal egg counts (FEC) were monitored every two weeks until August 31. Rams were dewormed based on FAMACHA ≥ 3. Select rams were sold at auction as breeding stock. Statistical analysis were performed using SAS (SAS Institute, Cary, NC). Rams requiring deworming had greater FAMACHA scores and FEC at all time points (P &amp;lt; 0.05), despite not requiring treatment until August 17 (5%) and August 31 (12%). In total, 17% of rams were dewormed. Of the dewormed rams, a smaller portion of rams sired by TESTED rams (10%) and NSIP rams (15%) required treatment compared to rams sired by NEITHER rams (85%; P &amp;lt; 0.05). Rams sired by TESTED and NSIP rams had a higher average value than those sired by NEITHER rams ($2070 and $1838, respectively, vs. $1078; P &amp;lt; 0.05). Selection of sires that are TESTED and/or NSIP resulted in progeny that had a lesser chance of requiring treatment and sold for greater value.

122 Evaluation of Sire FEC EBV Type andHaemonchus contortous Infection on Feed Efficiency in Katahdin Sheep

Abstract Understanding the impact of genetic resistance to internal parasitism and infection status on feed efficiency could be valuable to selection and management programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of fecal egg count (FEC) estimated breeding value (EBV) and Haemonchus contortous (H.C.) infection on intake, feed:gain (F:G), and residual feed intake (RFI). Over two years, Katahdin lambs divergently selected for FEC EBV (LowFEC, n = 86; HighFEC, n = 87) were born mid-March at the Southwest Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center. Mid-July, lambs were transported to West Virginia University’s Animal Science Farm and fed using a Growsafe™. Lambs were provided a complete pellet (16% CP) ad libitum while individual intake was measured. Half of the lambs from each sire FEC EBV type were infected with 5,000 H.C. L3 larvae and observed for 6 weeks alongside uninfected contemporaries. Artificial H.C. infection resulted in lambs becoming moderately infected with FEC ranging from (0 – 1208 eggs/g). RFI was calculated as the difference between actual and expected intake. Expected intake was predicted based on average daily gain and metabolic body size. Intake was not affected by sire FEC EBV type or infection status (P &amp;gt; 0.10). Infection status did not affect F:G, however HighFEC lambs tended to have greater F:G values (13.5 vs. 6.8 kg feed:kg gain; P = 0.07). RFI was not affected by sire FEC EBV type or infection status (P &amp;gt; 0.10). Individual sire (n = 9) had a significant effect on intake and RFI (P &amp;lt; 0.05). Year and year x sire interaction did not have an effect on RFI or F:G (P &amp;gt; 0.40). Sire FEC EBV type and infection status did not impact feed efficiency. However, variation between sires independent of year indicates potential sire impact on progeny feed efficiency in sheep.

A Rare Cause of Pedunculated Polyps Caused by Strongyloides

Introduction: Strongyloidiasis is a systemic disease caused by the nematode Strongyloides stercoralis. Strongyloides is unique among parasites in that it can remain undetected for decades. Although patients may present with the typical symptoms of a skin rash, cough or diarrhoea, a rare manifestation of infection is pseudopolyposis in the colon. This case highlights the unique finding of pseudopolyposis in a patient with strongyloidiasis with negative stool studies. Case description: We present the case of an 81-year-old man with a delayed diagnosis of strongyloidiasis. The patient initially presented to the clinic for evaluation of productive cough and was treated empirically for bronchitis. He subsequently developed vomiting and diarrhoea with imaging revealing circumferential wall thickening of the ascending colon, consistent with colitis. Although stool tests were negative, the patient was treated with antibiotics, and then underwent a colonoscopy which revealed multiple polyps. Biopsy results confirmed Strongyloides infection. The patient was treated with ivermectin and improved. Discussion: This case describes the unique finding of colonic pseudopolyposis in a patient infected with Strongyloides in rural southwest Virginia. Strongyloidiasis is often misdiagnosed due to its non-specific gastrointestinal symptoms and the chronic nature of the disease. Although stool studies are routinely negative for parasitic infection, CT scan findings suggestive of colitis should be followed by colonoscopy with biopsy of any abnormal lesion in the right clinical context. Determining the definitive diagnosis in a timely manner is crucial for establishing the specific treatment and for resolution of the disease.