Monday, August 19, 2013

Slowing Dewormer Resistance

It is a well-known fact that gastro-intestinal parasites (worms) have developed resistance to all of the currently available dewormers (anthelmintics). Resistance means that an anthelmintic treatment is not effective (or only marginally effective) at killing worms and alleviating clinical symptoms.


Worm resistance is permanent and heritable; the worm's ability to survive is passed onto its offspring.The primary cause of  resistance is frequent deworming, especially without regard to clinical need. Improper use (e.g. underdosing) of dewormers has also accelerated the development of drug-resistant worms.

Dewormer resistance is inevitable (some worms will always survive treatment), but the speed by which it develops is not. For many sheep and goat producers, the level of resistance is still at a level at which there is time to slow it down and enable the continued use of anthelmintics.

Read full article at http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/slowdrugresist.html to learn strategies for slowing dewormer resistance.

1 comment:

Monte - Farm Real Estate said...

By creating a genetic predisposition for the worm offspring, a few generations shouldn't stand a chance.