Levamisole: anthelmintic activity in calves following dermal application.

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Parasitology
• Pharmacology
• Animal Health

Background:

• Levamisole is a widely used anthelmintic in livestock.
• Traditional administration routes for levamisole include oral and injectable forms.
• Dermal absorption offers a potentially less invasive and more convenient administration method.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the anthelmintic efficacy of levamisole when applied dermally in cattle.
• To compare the efficacy of dermal levamisole against various nematode species and life stages.
• To assess the feasibility of dermal application as an alternative to conventional administration methods.

Main Methods:

• Seven experiments were conducted using 181 artificially infested calves.
• Levamisole was formulated at 10% m/v in a dermal absorption-enhancing solvent.
• The solution was applied topically along the spine at 10 mg levamisole base per kg live mass.

Main Results:

• High efficacy was observed against larval and adult stages of Haemonchus placei, Cooperia spp., and Bunostomum phlebotomum.
• Moderate to high efficacy was recorded for Ostertagia ostertagi, Oesophagostomum radiatum, and Dictyocaulus viviparus.
• Results were consistently achieved across experiments, validated by necropsy findings.

Conclusions:

• Dermal application of levamisole provides significant anthelmintic efficacy in calves.
• This administration route is comparable in effectiveness to conventional methods.
• Dermal levamisole represents a novel and potentially advantageous approach to anthelmintic therapy in cattle.