This article is sponsored by Elanco
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THE fight against roundworms and the struggles of dealing with drench resistance are costing the Australian sheep and wool industry millions of dollars from lost production and cost of control.
The new combination sheep drench, Zolvix Plus, from animal health leader Elanco, if incorporated into drenching programs now, will play an important role in delaying drench resistance.
Zolvix Plus combines two short-acting broad spectrum drench actives; monepantel (the active ingredient in Zolvix) and abamectin, a macrocyclic lactone (ML).
Zolvix Plus is effective against all major roundworm species, including strains with single, double or triple resistance to white, clear and ML drenches or their combinations.
Each drench active acts against worms at the same time but with different modes of action.
Elanco Brand Manager for sheep, Dr Kathryn Humphries, said the new drench is a welcome addition to drenching programs across Australia.
“New Zolvix Plus provides all the benefits of Zolvix in terms of worm control, but with the added benefits of being in a combination," Dr Humphries said.
During the development of Zolvix research demonstrated >99.9 per cent efficacy against Brown stomach worm, Black scour worm and Barber’s pole worm.
It's common knowledge resistance may develop to any drench and there have been isolated cases of resistance to Zolvix identified, although monepantel as a single active continues to provide high efficacy on the vast majority of sheep farms.
Dr Humphries said sheep and wool producers need to introduce new chemistry into their drenching programs to help preserve the efficacy of existing active ingredients.
If properties have evidence of abamectin resistance, the combination with monepantel will still be beneficial.
Research has shown that a second active, like abamectin will still slow the development of resistance to a fully effective active, such as monepantel even when resistance to the second active already exists.
The higher the level of efficacy of the second active, the greater the benefit will be.
“A national survey found there is widespread resistance to white, clear and ML drenches and their combinations in Australian sheep flocks," Dr Humphries said.
The potential benefit provided by a combination drench will be greatest when starting levels of resistance to the individual active ingredients are very low.
- Dr Kathryn Humphries, Elanco Brand Manager for sheep.
Research using a parasitological computer model, based on worm control practices in the major sheep-farming areas strongly supports the inclusion of monepantel in drenching programs to help prolong the useful life of monepantel and other effective drench classes.
The model proved incorporating monepantel into drench programs is a successful strategy for maximising productivity and minimising the development of resistance.
*Use in accordance with label directions and regional drench decision guidelines.
This article is sponsored by Elanco
