EFFICACY OF ABAMECTIN AGAINST NEMATODES IN CATTLE

Eight controlled trials were conducted, using 96 cattle of European breeds, to evaluate the efficacy of abamectin against natural and artificially acquired infections of adult and fourth-stage larvae of all the economically important gastro-intestinal nematodes and lungworms in Germany and the United Kingdom. Half the animals were treated on one occasion with abamectin at a dose of 200 mug/kg bodyweight given subcutaneously while the other half remained untreated. Worms were counted 14 or 21 days after treatment or 28 days after the last infection. The treatment was highly effective (>99 to 100 per cent) (P<0.05) at removing immature (L4) stages and adult worms of the following species: Ostertagia ostertagi (inhibited larvae included), Trichostrongylus axei, Haemonchus contortus, Bunostomum phlebotomum, Cooperia species Oesophagostomum radiatum and Dictyocaulus viviparus. Naturally acquired adult C surnabada and Trichuris discolor infections were also significantly (P<0.05) reduced. For Nematodirus helvetianus the efficacy varied from 89.8 to >99 per cent (P>0.1 to <0.01). Abamectin gave full protection against the gastrointestinal nematodes O ostertagi, H contortus, Cooperia species and O radiatum for at least seven days and against the lungworm D viviparus for at least 14 days after treatment.