2007, Vol 2 No 1, Article 13
Efficacy Of Different Anthelmintics Against
Gastro-Intestinal Nematodes of Sheep
in Kashmir Valley
S. Nasreen, Ghulam Jeelani and
F. D. Sheikh Sheep Husbandry Department, Kashmir, India ABSTRACT Forty weaner sheep divided randomly into four groups of ten animals each were administered various anthelmintics. The efficacy was accessed by calculating the reduction in eggs per gram (EPG) percentage. The result showed ivermectin to be the most effective followed by fenbendazole and albendazole respectively. INTRODUCTION
The sheep of the Kashmir valley are
reared on an extensive pattern, in which they are dependent mostly on
the green lush pasture of the meadows. This results in high parasitic
infestation especially due to gastro-intestinal (GI) nematodes. The
infested animals show anorexia, reduced feed intake, alteration in
protein metabolism along with loss of blood and plasma protein in the
gastro-intestinal tract. Great economic losses due to decreased growth
rate and wool production, sub-optimal reproduction and sometimes death
of the animals are encountered. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty sheep (weaners) of either sex having naturally acquired infestation of GI nematodes were selected for the study and divided into four groups named A, B, C, & D. (Table 1) Animals of group B, C and D were orally administered ivermectin (0.2 mg/kg), fenbendazole (5 mg/kg) and albendazole (7.5 mg/kg) immediately after collecting the fecal samples on day 0 (zero). The animals of group A were not administered any anthelmintic and served as control. Fecal samples from the different groups were collected at day 0 (pre-treatment) and thereafter on day 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 (post-treatment). All samples were examined to determine the number of eggs per gram (EPG) of samples as per the Stoll’s egg counting technique (Soulsby 1986).
The efficacy of anthelmintics was
calculated by comparing the means of EPG values pre and post-treatment
over the different groups. The experiment was continued up to 28th day
post-treatment and the treated animals were also observed for tolerance
to the drugs and any other untoward symptoms. At the end of the study
period percent reduction in EPG was calculated as per the standard
formula
=Mean EPG pre treatment – Mean EPG
post treatment (Soulsby, 1982) RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The result of the drug trial in terms of percent decrease in EPG (mean) of treated animals is given in Table 1. Table 1 Comparative efficacy of various anthelmintics in Sheep
Ivermectin administered to animals of group C was found the most effective as the EPG value decreased from 2475 to 160 resulting in a 93.21% reduction. These results were in agreement with the findings of Wescott and Leamaster (1982), Swan et al (1984) and Singh et al (2001). Fenbendazole in animals of Group D also proved effective against gastro-intestinal nematodes with decrease in EPG count from a pre-treatment mean value of 2612 to a post-treatment mean of 300. A decrease of 88.91% in EPG values was thus noticed in this group of animals. Similar results have been reported by Srivastav et al (1983) and Yaz Winski et al (1983) for sheep infected with nematodiasis. Albendazole in weaners of group E was least effective against gastro-intestinal nematodes with a decrease in EPG from a pre-treatment mean value of 2683 to 600 at the end of the trial period. The reduction in EPG was only 77.63% in the animals of this group.
On the basis of these results it was
concluded that ivermectin proved the most effective drug against ovine
GI nematodiasis. Fenbendazole being comparatively less and Albendazole
the least effective. REFERENCES
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