New methods of drug application for control of helminths

Several new ways have been developed of delivering anthelmintics to ruminants aimed particularly at reducing labour. For single doses, these include a semi-automatic rumen injector for giving insoluble drugs to cattle more conveniently and efficiently than by oral dosing, and the dermal application of levamisole which is, however, subject to seasonal variation in absorption. Sustained administration offers potentially a high level of preventive control but carries a greater risk of developing drug resistance. Even with the best available methods of group administration in feed supplements or drinking water, there remains some uncontrollable variation in individual intake. Intraruminal sustained release devices largely overcome this problem and constitute the most important new technology. They are represented at present by the commercially successful morantel sustained release bolus, and the more versatile Laby capsule which is under development for anthelmintic delivery. Other new applications include the possible development of synergists, potentiators and drug combinations, the special features of drugs which bind strongly to plasma proteins, and the new possibilities offered by a drug highly effective against all stages of Fasciola hepatica. In the general approach to anthelmintic application in helminth control, there have been advances in knowledge of helminth population biology which can lead to better timing of strategic dosing programs, which show that single treatments can have persistent benefits without a simultaneous reduction in infection rate, and which question the conventional view that control schemes require the treatment of all animals in the group.