Safety and efficacy against fourth-stage gastrointestinal nematode larvae, of monepantel in 6-week old lambs

A controlled, blinded study was undertaken in 6-week old, pre-weaned lambs to demonstrate the safety and efficacy against fourth-stage gastrointestinal nematode larvae, of monepantel administered per os at 2.5 mg/kg body weight. Worm burdens of 10 monepantel-treated lambs were compared to those from 10 untreated control lambs. Geometric mean derived efficacies of 100, 100, 96.4 and 99.9% were demonstrated against Haemonchus contortus, Teladorsagia spp., Cooperia curticei and Trichostrongylus colubriformis, respectively. These results, considered in the light of an earlier series of studies demonstrating the efficacy of monepantel in older animals, and an absence of any adverse events, provides strong support for the use of monepantel as a safe and effective anthelmintic in lambs from six weeks of age.