Health Canada issued a temporary stop sale order for all Deccox products in Canada due to a regulatory compliance issue with an ingredient supplier said animal nutrition company Philbro Animal Health Corporation.

Deccox, the trade name for decoquinate products sold by Philbro, is a non-antibiotic medication for preventing coccidiosis in calves. It’s administered through feed, milk or milk replacers, according to Philbro’s site.

There are no safety or efficacy concerns with Deccox, the company said in a fact sheet posted to the Ontario Sheep Farmers website. It said the issues are with the manufacturer of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), not Philbro and are procedural in nature. Products are not being recalled.

No other products in the company’s portfolio are affected.

Health Canada hasn’t provided a timeline for the stoppage, Philbro said.

“Philbro is working closely with the API manufacturer to obtain clarification and will communicate updates as soon as additional information becomes available,” it added.

Coccidiosis is a disease affecting calves which is caused by protozoan parasites according to an article from Ohio State University. Infection can cause symptoms ranging from depressed appetite and poor weight gain to bloody diarrhea and death.

Coccidiosis can affect calves as young as three weeks of age but is most frequently diagnosed at stressful times like weaning or entry to a backgrounding operation or feedlot, the Ohio State University article said. Calves usually develop immunity by one year of age.

The post Health Canada stops sales of coccidiosis medication Deccox on procedural issue appeared first on Farmtario.

We need to all think more about timing for both lice and internal worms so that control products can do the best job possible.

We can also save money if treatment proves unnecessary.

Easier methods are being developed to determine parasite levels to make the treat-or-not-treat decision easier.

External parasites

With lice, kill rates are better if we wait until well into the winter.

They become active in the winter, so a warmer fall will see them emerge later. This is why we will see lice outbreaks in a very cold winter, especially if treatment was too early.

It’s also why we don’t have lice problems when the winters are milder.

There are only a few good products left for lice control, and they are getting fewer all the time. The products that are left have very specific treatment application methods and times.

In the old days, before good treatments were available, producers would cull animals that carried an obvious lice burden. Over time, producers essentially began selecting for a type of genetic resistance to lice.

Cattle oiler products are good for lice and flies, but while lice are controlled in the winter, flies are managed in the summer when populations become high enough.

Worm problems

The U.S. cattle sector has fewer problems with lice because of the warmer climate, but that means more issues with internal worms, which aren’t as much of a problem in Western Canada.

They are the worst in sheep, but bison are also bad.

With bison, I have seen worms kill some animals if they aren’t dewormed.

We see pockets of high incidence, and to complicate matters, some species of worms are more harmful than others.

Also, some species don’t lay as many eggs, so finding even a few species of certain types is significant.

Work done by Merck Animal Health in North America and Dr. John Gilleard found that an egg count of 10 per gram could have a significant impact on weight gain.

As well, the higher the worm count, the harder the animal’s immune system must work at getting rid of them, making them more susceptible to other infections. We call this co-morbidity, which can increase the incidence of conditions such as pneumonia and coccidiosis.

Fecal counts are a good way to determine worm loads in a herd, which are made easier by pooling samples done at the lab.

If done properly, a few pooled results can provide a good idea of what the worm population is in a herd.

These are best done in the fall when worm results will be highest.

It also gives producers a really good idea of how contaminated or not contaminated their pastures are.

Even if these fecal results are done every few years, it still lets producers know what they’re up against.

Maybe cattle can miss deworming for a year or maybe the count is high.

There are management strategies that can help eliminate worm burdens or keep them low.

Pasturing on higher grass (greater than six inches) ensures that cattle will rarely come in contact with the larval stages of worms.

Our cold Canadian winters kill a high percentage of the overwintering larvae, and desiccation in the summer also kills many.

With bison, increasing the time between rotational grazing is helpful.

Also, producers could take a crop of hay and leave a year in between grazing, which is even more beneficial for removing worms.

Besides the pour-on products, there are others that can be put in the drinking water, fed or put in the minerals in the summer.

There is also a product that has a double release. The only problem here is that the first release may be wasted if cattle were treated the previous winter.

Managing resistance pressure

Spending some money doing fecal counts and parasite checks may allow producers to skip deworming. This then lessens the likelihood of resistance.

Remember the 80-20 rule: 80 per cent of the parasites are in 20 per cent of the animals, increasing the importance of determining the right 20 per cent to treat.

Also if checking for parasites, it’s best to check older calves in the fall or yearlings. Cows will likely almost always have much lower counts than the older calves or yearlings.

Some clinics will do parasite checks in-house.

It’s best to avoid unnecessary deworming and lice.

We need to use the products we have properly because I don’t see any new ones coming down the line.

There are sporadic reports of liver flukes and lungworms, and if they are diagnosed in your area, it would be a good idea to talk to a veterinarian about how and when to treat.

Changes in how parasites are managed may see less product used overall.

As well, ensuring products are used at the right times and when needed should lead to better control.

The post Changing minds on cattle parasite control appeared first on Farmtario.

That was the message to participants of a fecal egg count workshop hosted by the Ontario Sheep Farmers last month in Lindsay.

Why it matters: Small-ruminant worm drug resistance remains a concern in Canada, especially with no new treatments on the horizon.

Dr. Brad DeWolf, a veterinarian, and Victoria Allcock, a master’s student at the University of Guelph, are researching parasite control in small ruminants. They led 12 sheep and goat producers through the hands-on workshop, covering Modified McMaster fecal egg count (FEC) training, parasite identification and tools essential for reducing parasite loads, slowing resistance and preserving dewormer effectiveness.

“There’s not going to be a magic bullet,” said DeWolf, adding long-term sustainable parasite management requires a combination of strategies, including FECs to maximize dewormer benefit and slow resistance.

The workshop focused on identifying two major parasite types in sheep and goats:

• Gastrointestinal nematodes (often called GINs), such as Haemonchus (barber pole worm) and Trichostrongylus, which live in the digestive system and cause disease; and
• Coccidia, typically affecting lambs, which leads to diarrhea and impaired growth performance.

“It’s no surprise parasites are costing every sheep producer money to some degree,” DeWolf said, whether that’s due to drug costs for deworming or animal deaths.

While Canada hasn’t reached the dewormer resistance levels encountered in New Zealand, DeWolf noted some resistance is already present, making selective and targeted treatment critical.

Timing is crucial, as worm development and shedding fluctuate with lambing, pasture conditions, farm practices and seasonal reductions in egg production, which can affect FEC accuracy.

Worms have a chance to build resistance with every dewormer application and under dosing increases that opportunity, DeWolf explained.

“We would much rather err on the side of overdosing slightly than under dosing,” he said. “People tend to under dose slightly, and that’s a way to promote resistance. Making sure you have an accurate idea of what animals are weighing is absolutely essential.”

He emphasized that many farms already face low-level resistance, and monitoring FEC of individual animals showing parasite stress, rather than pool testing, helps identify high-burden animals, leading to more effective treatment decisions.

Farmer take-aways

New to the industry, Lindsey Wensink raises 40 ewes in the Reaboro area said the workshop filled knowledge gaps and added new tools to their management practices.

“We encountered a lot of different parasites in the last two years, and we’ve had two bouts of coccidiosis,” Wensink said, adding they use rotational grazing to limit worm load.

“So, it’s self-education, basically just being able to identify and treat as needed, rather than treating as a whole.”

Katy Touchette made the trek from Prince Edward County, where she works on a 2,000-head sheep operation.

“I wanted to learn how to do it and be able to do it myself to have a better grip on what’s going on in the flock, parasite-wise,” said Touchette. “And at the same time, saving a few bucks from the vet.”

With flock-wide FECs costing $90, learning to test individuals and the flock accurately can reduce unnecessary treatment and lower costs. Touchette said having practical training early in the grazing season will help the operation avoid over-treatment and confirm worm load when symptoms such as poor body condition arise.

“I’m going to walk away with much knowledge and a new ability to be more efficient in my work,” she said. “It’s something that we already do, but if we can do it ourselves, it might be just done quickly and more often.”

Tammy Nurse of Campbellcroft manages a 60-head Rideau flock in a barn and open yard, where she feeds hay, forgoing pasturing altogether. With this setup, she said she’s only needed to worm two sheep in 13 years.

“Once you pasture, you end up with a huge problem with worms,” Nurse said. “(Parasites are) one of the most expensive things that’s hard on a sheep flock, and especially hard on your bottom line.”

She advocates for breeding worm-resistant sheep instead of relying solely on dewormers.

“A 100 years ago, sheep were resistant, because if they weren’t, they died,” she explained. “(My ram) was subjected to heavy worm loads, and he was tested to have low amounts of them. Even though he was exposed to them, they didn’t take.”

To address coccidia in lambs, she uses Toltrazuril as a preventative. Although it doesn’t eliminate the coccidia parasites, it slows their growth, giving lambs time to build immunity and reduce scours-related dehydration — a key concern in barns where disinfecting wooden surfaces is difficult.

Treat your dogs

Anita O’Brien, OSF’s on-farm program lead, explained that Taenia ovis, a tapeworm found in farm dogs, guardian dogs or visiting dogs is not detectable through small ruminant FEC tests. The parasite causes “sheep measles,” which is on the rise and can lead to carcass condemnation.

Dogs contract the parasite by eating raw meat infected with “sheep measles” cysts. They then shed tapeworm eggs onto grass, which sheep ingest while grazing. The parasite moves into the muscle, forming cysts that result in meat being condemned.

“We recommend getting a dog worming program that targets tapeworms,” said O’Brien. “And any dogs that are coming to the farm, we need to be confident that they are not carrying this tapeworm and leaving it behind.”

The OSF emphasized that deadstock must be dealt with promptly to prevent scavenging by dogs or wildlife, which can spread or restart infection cycles.

Upcoming FEC workshops will be held in Walkerton and Ilderton this July. More information is available at www.ontariosheep.org.

The post Smart deworming starts with individualized fecal egg counts appeared first on Farmtario.

The good news is we can test for these parasites, and if thresholds are passed, then those herds or pens are treated.

Work done a few years ago by a pharmaceutical company with which I was involved found that we could put most beef herds into low, medium and high categories for internal worms, and only the medium and high herds would need to be dewormed.

The best time to check is after cattle have been on grassy pasture later in the summer when burdens increase.

Cattle are generally pretty low shedders of eggs because of low infestation, but later summer is the best time to check.

Yearlings generally have higher counts, followed by calves. The cows are most resistant.

Fresh manure is needed when doing a manure test.

The modified Wisconsin test is the most accurate test for cattle.

It’s possible to pool samples instead of doing a group of 10. This should save time and money and be just as accurate if done properly.

This should save the clinic time.

We all need to test more before treating the entire herd.

It has been found that ivermectin resistance is increasing, which reduces effectiveness.

Resistance varies greatly from herd to herd.

Check to see if your herd veterinarian does parasite testing at their clinic or sends them out.

The problem here is the number of tests that are needed as well as the cost and time.

Some producers complain about spending money on tests, only to have the deworm the herd anyway. Their response is that they might as well have just dewormed them in the first place.

This response is understandable, and quicker chute side tests need to be developed to reduce this problem.

I am sure some researcher will develop a quick, lower-cost method.

Another class of parasite treatment is the benzimidazoles, including products such as Safeguard and Valbazen.

The problem is that only internal worms are treated, and the products don’t include treatment for lice.

Until the last decade or so, ivermectin products accomplished both parasite and lice control.

Ivermectin products came on the market when my generation of veterinarians (baby boomers) were practising, and everything was treated.

Lice were most visible, which internal worms rarely got bad enough in Canada to cause outward clinical disease.

However, this is changing.

Now, veterinarians must help producers fine-tune their entire parasite treatment program as well as the fly control treatment program.

Internal parasites such as liver flukes and external ones such as ticks may also be showing up in slightly increasing frequency.

These parasite problems are in more specific geographic regions, and they can have complicated life cycles so may even show up in specific years under specific conditions.

Again, your herd veterinarian can help with specific treatments and monitoring if either liver flukes or ticks become prevalent in your area.

For fly control, especially, there are fewer and fewer products to use, and they are all similar chemically with no new ones on the horizon. Many have actually been taken away from us.

Treatments must be used only when fly numbers get high enough. If oilers are used, they can only be charged with product when necessary. This saves product and cost and slows down the development of resistance.

Canadian winter slows down the transmission of internal parasites, killing the eggs and reducing the survivability of larvae.

Rotational grazing with a long time between regarding allows more larvae to desiccate and die.

Producers should be able to keep parasites in check with selective and timely use of products, specific management changes and checking for eggs in the manure.

It might also be a good idea to cull cows that are determined to be lice carriers.

Parasites evolve and have been survivors, so constant research going is needed in this field so that we are aware of new developments and products.

Most research is species specific, but transmission can occur between similar species such as bison and cattle, horses and donkeys.

Ticks, on the other hand, can involve several different species in their life cycle, as do liver flukes.

It’s a complicated world when it comes to parasite management, and herd management needs to be reviewed from time to time.

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