Activity of doramectin against nematode endoparasites of cattle

A series of 28 controlled anthelmintic studies, involving 634 cattle, was conducted throughout North America and Europe to evaluate the efficacy of doramectin against a broad range of gastrointestinal parasitic nematode species and lungworms in naturally and experimentally infected animals. Within each study, one or two groups were treated with doramectin at 200 micrograms kg-1 and another group received no drug treatment. Worm burdens were estimated by standardised techniques, and efficacy assessed on reduction of worm burdens in doramectin-treated animals. Doramectin was at least 99.6% effective (P < 0.0002) in eliminating the immature and adult stages of the following 14 species of nematodes: Ostertagia ostertagi (including inhibited), Ostertagia lyrata, Haemonchus placei, Trichostrongylus axei, Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Cooperia oncophora (including inhibited), Cooperia pectinata, Cooperia punctata, Cooperia spatulata, Cooperia surnabada, Bunostomum phlebotomum, Strongyloides papillosus, Oesophagostomum radiatum and Dictyocaulus viviparus. Efficacy against adult Trichostrongylus longispicularis, Nematodirus spathiger and Trichuris spp. was 93.1%, 96.5% and 94.6%, respectively. Efficacies against adult and fourth-stage larvae of Nematodirus helvetianus, the dose-limiting species, were 73.3% and 75.5%, respectively.