Efficacy of phenothiazine in the treatment of sheep for control of internal parasites

Abstract

"February, 1946."Treating ewes once in December and once the following March with a full dose of liquid phenothiazine and every 28 days thereafter with 1 1/2 per cent copper sulphate until the following December did not control nodular worm infestation even though at the beginning of the experiment the sheep were placed upon clean pasture.Treating sheep with liquid phenothiazine every four weeks from December to March (giving a total of four treatments) and then giving them 1 1/2 per cent copper sulphate every 28 days did not control nodular worm infestations. The 1 1/2 per cent copper sulphate solution was found very satisfactory in keeping the lambs free from Haemonchus contortus. Treating sheep with liquid phenothiazine every four weeks from December to early April and then allowing them access to pheno-thiazine-salt mixture (1 part phenothiazine to 10 parts salt) was very satisfactory in controlling nodular worm infestation. This method of handling sheep held the Haemonchus contortus infestation down to an average of about 19 per lamb. This same method of handling did not satisfactorily control ostertagia, nematodirus, cooperia or tapeworms. Whipworm counts were not materially different in any of the three experiments. Average weight of the lambs was very much higher in Experiment III when the sheep had access to phenothiazine and salt mixture than it was in Experiments I and II. Phenothiazine has not been found toxic to sheep either in a 1 to10 phenothiazine-salt mixture or when the medicine has been given as a drench every 28 days throughout the entire year. The use of phenothiazine has not interfered with breeding efficiency. Worm egg counts by the flotation method have not contributed any aid in this study, but would be useful in sheep infested with only one species of parasite or with species that can be definitely identified by microscopic examination alone