Efficacy of a morantel-abamectin combination for the treatment of resistant ascarids in foals.

The research investigates how effective combining morantel and abamectin is in treating worm infections in young horses that are resistant to other typical treatments. The study found the combination to be over 99% efficient in all inspected properties, indicating it controls such resistant parasites effectively.

Methods of Research

The researchers utilised following methods in the study:

• They selected foals from five individual properties where the presence of Parasitic faecal egg count (Pro-Ascaris) was greater than 50 eggs per gram of faeces.
• They then calculated the reduction in faecal egg count (FECR) and the efficacy of the combination of morantel and abamectin as a de-wormer.

Findings of the Research

The findings from this study include:

• Resistance to commonly used de-worming agents, ivermectin and abamectin, was observed across all the properties.
• The use of a combo treatment: morantel-abamectin, resulted in a massive reduction in Parasitic faecal egg count (greater than 99%), indicating its effectiveness against worms that show resistance to the conventional treatments.

Conclusions of the study

Upon analyzing the data, the researchers concluded the following:

• The combination of morantel-abamectin has been highly effective against the macrocyclic lactone (ML)- resistant Parascaris spp. infections in foals.
• The efficiency of this combination treatment was consistent in all the properties they examined, suggesting that it is generally effective in controlling ML-resistant worms.
• This suggests that combining morantel and abamectin could be a viable alternative treatment for foals where the worms present resistance to traditional de-wormer medication.