Oral ivermectin paste for the treatment of chorioptic mange in horses.

This study examined the effectiveness of ivermectin paste as a treatment for chorioptic mange in horses and found it to significantly reduce mite numbers, though it did not completely eliminate them in all cases.

About the Research

• The research was a single blind controlled clinical trial conducted to assess how well oral ivermectin paste, a common medication used to treat parasitic infections, could manage chorioptic mange in horses. Chorioptic mange is a troublesome skin disease caused by certain types of mites.
• Ivermectin was administered at a dosage of 0.1 mg/kg daily for a week. The researchers subsequently noted a considerable reduction in mite numbers in those horses that received the treatment compared to those left untreated, suggesting positive effects of the medication. However, it failed to completely eradicate the mites from all treated horses.

Different Treatment Groups

• After observing the result from the first treatment group, researchers conducted further analysis with two other groups of horses.
• One of these groups was given ivermectin at the same dosage rate, but for 10 days, instead of seven, to see if prolonging the treatment duration would yield better results. The other group was treated with double the initial dose (0.2 mg/kg), administered twice with a two-week gap.

Findings from the Additional Treatment Groups

• Interestingly, the researchers noted no significant differences between the results obtained from all the three treatment groups. This implies that neither increasing the treatment duration to 10 days nor doubling the dosage and splitting it over a fortnight was more effective than the initial regimen.
• None of the three treatment approaches successfully eliminated mites from all the treated horses, implying that the ivermectin paste treatment, while effective at reducing mite populations, did not completely cure the horses of chorioptic mange.

Towards Better Treatment

• The study lays the groundwork for further research into achieving complete eradication of chorioptic mange mites in horses, as the current treatment, despite being partially effective, does not deliver a total cure.
• The findings might stimulate the investigation into higher dosage rates, longer treatment duration, or even the exploration of different medication for the treatment of chorioptic mange in horses.