Effectiveness of Ivermectin and Albendazole against Haemonchus contortus in Sheep in West Java, Indonesia

Administering a half dose of an anthelmintic is a simple method for detecting resistance in parasites infesting small ruminants. When a single anthelmintic fails in native sheep from Indonesia, a combination of anthelmintics from different chemical classes with different modes of action are administered as an alternative parasite-control strategy. This study compared the anthelmintic efficacy of ivermectin (IVM) and albendazole (ABZ) given either separately as a single dose or half dose or co-administered to sheep naturally infected with Haemonchus contortus. Twelve sheep from Bogor, West Java, Indonesia were divided into the following six treatment groups: half-dose IVM, full-dose IVM, half-dose ABZ, full-dose ABZ, combined IVM + ABZ, and control. The treatment efficacy was determined using the faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) at day 0 (pre-treatment) and post-treatment at days 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42. The efficacies of half-dose IVM, full-dose IVM, half-dose ABZ, full-dose ABZ, and the combination treatment ranged from -1900% to 100%, 99% to 100%, -167% to 100%, -467% to 89%, and -200% to 100%, respectively. The FECRT for the half-dose IVM, half-dose ABZ, full-dose ABZ showed that H. contortus is resistant to half-dose IVM and ABZ. Full-dose IVM was effective against H. contortus. The combined treatment was more effective against H. contortus than ABZ alone.