Quarantine dose key is vital to resistant worm control

Sheep producers are being urged to treat all bought-in stock – be they lambs, ewes or rams – with a quarantine wormer dose this autumn.

“Too many sheep producers dismiss the notion of biosecurity and don’t include a quarantine dose for bought-in stock as part of their annual worming programme,” says SCOPS Lesley Stubbings.

“But quarantining bought-in stock and dosing for worms, as well as monitoring the stock for other infectious diseases and parasites, should form an essential part of a flock’s health plan.”

She adds that “buying in stock could mean that producers also buy in resistant worms, and if infected sheep are not dosed with an effective wormer they risk these worms being shed onto pasture and their farm developing a resistant worm problem.”

“Producers must ensure that they’re not buying in resistance. They must protect their flock – prevention is vital as there’s no ‘cure’ for wormer resistance.”

“And that’s why SCOPS advocates the use of the new 4-AD class (monepantel*) wormer in conjunction with moxidectin. If this is in injectable form it will also deal with sheep scab.”

“This will ensure that there is no chance of any worms that are resistant to the white (1-BZ), yellow (2-LV), or avermectin products in the clear (3-ML) group slipping through the net on to the farm.”

ZOLVIX* is the only wormer in the orange (4-AD) group on the market, says Novartis Animal Health’s Simon Harris. “And it can be used on every flock every year and because it kills all gut roundworms, including resistant worms, it aids resistance management and can help to ensure sustainable productivity,” he said.

It contains the new active ingredient monepantel, and is effective against all known roundworms, including those which are resistant to the existing three drench classes – white (benzimidazole, or 1-BZ), yellow (levamisole, or 2-LV) and clear (macrocyclic or 3-ML) – and combinations of these three.

“It’s the gold standard for the industry – there’s no resistance to it. And producers can be sure that any worms that are resistant to the other anthelmintic products on the market are controlled and the rest of their flock is protected,” adds Mr Harris.

About Novartis Animal HealthNovartis Animal Health is a leader in developing new and better ways to preventand treat diseases in pets, farm animals and cultivated fish. We focus our energy on developing new medicines that improve the quality of life for companion animals, as well as those that improve the health of livestock and farmed fish as we strive to support high-quality production and welfare.For farm animals, we specialize in offering the products CliK, Rycoben and the Fasinex range of Flukicides that aid in the prevention of losses associated with Fly, Fluke and Worm infestations in both Sheep and Cattle.

About NovartisNovartis provides healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Focused solely on healthcare, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost- saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventive vaccines, diagnostic tools and consumer health products. Novartis is the only company with leading positions in these areas. In 2009, the Group’s continuing operations achieved net sales of USD 44.3 billion, while approximately USD 7.5 billion was invested in R&D activities throughout the Group. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ approximately 102,000 full-time-equivalent associates and operate in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.