Reevaluation of efficacy against nematode parasites and pharmacokinetics of topical eprinomectin in cattle

A study was conducted to confirm the efficacy of topical eprinomectin against nematodes and to evaluate the pharmacokinetics in cattle prevented from having physical contact with other cattle and from self-grooming. Sixteen male Brown Swiss calves were infected with larvae of recently isolated nematode parasites. Inoculation was scheduled so that the nematodes were expected to be adults at the time of treatment. Animals were blocked based on pretreatment body weight and randomly allocated to the untreated control group or the group treated with EPRINEX® Pour-On (Merial; 0.5 mg eprinomectin per kilogram body weight). Plasma samples were collected prior to and between 1 and 21 days following treatment and analysed for eprinomectin (B1a component) concentrations. For parasite recovery, identification and counting, animals were humanely euthanized 21 days after treatment. Calves treated with eprinomectin had significantly (p < 0.05) fewer (>99 % reduction) adult Dictyocaulus viviparus, Bunostomum phlebotomum, Cooperia oncophora, Cooperia surnabada, Cooperia punctata, Nematodirus helvetianus, Oesophagostomum radiatum, Ostertagia ostertagi, Ostertagia lyrata, and Trichostrongylus axei and inhibited fourth-stage Nematodirus and Ostertagia larvae than the controls. The main pharmacokinetic parameters of eprinomectin B1a were: AUC(inf), 124 ± 24 day ng/mL; T1/2, 5.2 ± 0.9 days; and Cmax, 9.7 ± 2.2 ng/mL. Individual maximal concentrations were observed 3–7 days after treatment. This study confirmed the continued high level of efficacy of topically administered eprinomectin against a wide range of recently isolated nematodes. In addition, this study demonstrates that oral ingestion is not required to achieve adequate exposure for efficacy following topical administration of eprinomectin.