Comparative anthelminthic efficacy of nitroxynil, levamisole, closantel, moxidectin and fenbendazole on parasite control in sheep

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of different drugs in the control of parasites of sheep belonging to the Centro Agropecuário da Palma, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, municipality of Capão do Leão, RS. Seventy-eight female Corriedale and Ideal sheep with an initial body weight of 48.35 ± 4.71 kg were randomly selected and divided into six groups submitted to the following treatments: control treatment and treated with 34%nitroxynil, 18.8% levamisole hydrochloride, 10% closantel, 1% moxidectin, and 10% fenbendazole. The drugs were administered according to the recommendations of the manufacturers. Fecal samples were collected before (day 0) and after treatment (days 7, 4, 21 and 28) and were used for the determination of fecal egg count (FEC) in the different groups. Efficacy was evaluated based on the percentage reduction in FEC and percent efficacy of the drugs. The fecal samples were processed for coproculture to identify the parasite genera present in the herd. The percentages of efficacy observed on day 28 post-treatment were 96.93% for nitroxynil, 95.8% for levamisole hydrochloride, 95.5% for closantel, 80.2% for moxidectin, and 27.5% for fenbendazole. The nematode species present in the herd was Haemonchus spp. (100%). Nitroxynil, closantel and levamisole hydrochloride were effective in eliminating gastrointestinal nematodes. Anthelmintic resistance was observed to moxidectin and fenbendazole