With Dr Kathryn Humphries – Senior Brand Manager – Sheep – Elanco
AUSTRALIAN sheep producers spent almost$104 million in the last 12 months on drenches to manage internal parasites.1 Unfortunately, many of these drenches are no longer fully effective in controlling worms and in some cases, are completely ineffective.2 There is widespread single, double and triple resistance to all older active ingredients, including moxidectin and two, three and four-way combinations.2
Any reduction in drench efficacy has a direct impact on the health and productivity of sheep throughout the year. Even a mild or moderate reduction in drench efficacy can reduce potential income by 2–10%.3 At a conservative gross margin of $150/ewe (excluding feed costs),4 a 15% reduction in drench efficacy equates to $3/ewe in lost production. A 35% reduction in drench efficacy equates to $15/ewe in lost production.
Drenching is hard work, and it takes just as much effort to administer an ineffective drench as it does a fully effective drench. The most expensive drench is the one that doesn’t work!
If you don’t know the efficacy of your drench, then take the Zolvix™ Plus Challenge. Find out if your drench is working by undertaking a free DrenchCheck worth approximately $200! A DrenchCheck is a simple way to indicate the efficacy of your existing drench against the worm burden in your sheep at the time of testing.
A DrenchCheck involves conducting two Worm Egg Count (WEC) tests to determine the reduction in the worm egg count after drenching. The first test is conducted up to 10 days before drenching. The second test is conducted 10–14 days after drenching.
The presence of any worm eggs – even very low counts –14 days after drenching may indicate a problem. The larval culture results from the second test will indicate which worm species survived treatment and may be resistant to that drench.
Re-treatment with an affective drench may be required.
Conducting a full DrenchTest (Worm or Faecal Egg Count Reduction Test (WECRT/FERCT)) every 2-3 years is regarded as best practice5 to accurately determine the resistance status and efficacy of each drench class against each worm species on your property.
To claim your free DrenchCheck kit, simply register your details at zolvixplusrewards.com. au before your next planned drench. Your local Elanco representative will then contact you to discuss your current program and provide directions on how to undertake the test.
The Drench Check will require two Elanco Worm Test kits, each containing 10 sample jars, gloves, instructions, order/authorisation form and a pre-paid Express Post bag.
Use the first kit to collect 10 Individual faecal samples before drenching and dispatch to the testing laboratory using the pre-paid Express Post bag. Use the second kit to collect 10 individual faecal samples 10–14 days after drenching and dispatch to the testing laboratory using the pre-paid Express Post bag.
Your local Elanco representative will contact you to discuss the results of the DrenchCheck and provide recommendations on how to maintain or to increase the effectiveness of your drenching program. Then you will know if your current drench is really working or not.
Zolvix Plus is the only combination drench that delivers the power of monepantel. Its unique mode of action provides >99.9% efficacy against a broad spectrum of internal parasites, including single, double and triple resistant strains.6 7 Its new 21-day Export Slaughter Interval is the lowest of any combination drench containing abamectin.