Brand: ASSASSIIN ® OP Sheep Dip
Company: COOPERS
FORMULATION: concentrate for topical administration as a «dip»
ACTIVE INGREDIENT(S): Temephos 35% = 350 g/L
CHEMICAL CLASS of the active ingredient(s): Organophosphate
INDICATIONS: SHEEP: short wool, 12 to 42 after shearing
PARASITES CONTROLLED (spectrum of activity)
- Control of body lice Bovicola (Damalinia) ovis on shorn sheep within 24 houres after shearing.
RECOMMENDED DOSE & USE INSTRUCTIONS
* Read the product label for further details on dosing and administration.
Dilution rate: 1:1000 equivalent to 350 ppm (parts per million
ANIMAL / PEST | TREATMENT | INITIAL CHARGE1 | TOPPING UP (when dip/sump level falls by no more than 25%)2 |
Short wool sheep (12-42 days after shearing)
Body Lice (Bovicola ovis) |
Plunge Dip | 100 mL product in 100 L water | 100 mL product per 100 L of fresh water required. |
Critical Comments: When dipping out (when the level of dip wash is intended to fall by more than 25%): (I) Ensure that the sheep can still swim in the remaining dip wash and can have their head dunked. (II) Add 25 ml of product each time the dip level falls by 100 mL. |
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Shower Dip | 100 mL product in 100 L water | 100 mL product per 100 L of fresh water required. | |
Critical Comments: When dipping out (when the level of dip wash is intended to fall by more than 25%): (I) DO NOT dip our beyond 50% of the original volume. (II) Add 25 ml of product each time the dip level falls by 100 mL. |
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Continuous Replenishment (Shower and Plunge Dips | 100 mL product in 100 L water | Not required. |
1) Filling the reservoir with fresh water and adding product as directed in the label.
2) Adding water plus product to make up for volume lost in dipping.
SAFETY
- LD50 (acute oral) in rats: for the a.i. 300-400 mg/kg
- LD50 (acute dermal) in rats: for the a.i. 360 mg/kg
- Estimated hazard class according to the WHO: II, moderately hazardous.
Withholding periods (=withdrawal times) for meat, milk & wool (country-specific differences may apply: read the product label)
- Meat: Australia 14 days (ESI 42 days)
- Milk for human consumption: Not approved in Australia.
- Wool: Australia: 6 months.
WARNING !!!: Never use on humans, dogs or cats.
You may be interested in the following articles in this site dealing with the general safety of veterinary products:
- Safety for humans
- Safety for domestic animals
- Safety for the environment
- Hazard classifications of pesticides
RESISTANCE PREVENTION
Risk of resistance? LOW. Resistance of sheep body lice to organophosphates is rather unusual in Australia after the many years of intensive use of synthetic pyrethroids and benzoylphenyl ureas (a particular group of insect growth regulators). It has been also shown that body lice populations highly resistant to synthetic pyrethroids are particularly susceptible to organophosphates.
This means that if this product does not achieve the expected efficacy against the mentioned parasites, it is likely to be due to incorrect use rather than to a resistance problem. Incorrect use is usually the most frequent cause of product failure.
However, uninterrupted use of temephos or other organophosphates against sheep body lice for years is likely to result in resistant lice. For this reason rotation with other chemical classes is highly recommended.
Alternative chemical classes/active ingredients for product rotation to prevent resistance of body lice to temephos or other organophosphates:
- Macrocyclic lactones (mainly ivermectin)
- Neonicotinoids (e.g. imidacloprid)
- Spinosad. Short protection periods.
Learn more about resistance and how it develops.
MARKETING
Are the active ingredients of this product ORIGINAL* or GENERICS**?
- GENERICS
*Meaning that they are still patent protected and generics are not yet available
**Meaning that they have lost patent protection and may be acquired from manufacturers of generic active ingredients other than the holder of the original patent.
COUNTRIES where this brand/product is marketed: Australia.
GENERIC BRANDS available? YES, but rather few, if at all. ASSASSIN is itself a brand containing generic temephos.
Click here to learn more about GENERIC vs. ORIGINAL drugs.
Click here for an overview on the most used antiparasitic BRANDS with concentrates for dipping, spraying, or jetting.
COMMENTS
ASSASSIN Sheep Dip from COOPERS is one of the few organophosphate products still approved for use on sheep in Australia.
Temephos is a veteran broad-spectrum organophosphate introduced in the 1960s by AMERICAN CYANAMID. It has been moderately use against certain agricultural pests, vectors (e.g. mosquitoes) and also against external parasites of pets and livestock. It is still used in some countries to treat ponds, lakes and wetlands against larvae of mosquitoes, black flies, midges and other pests than develop in aquatic environments. Nowadays usage in livestock and pets is marginal. It has been vastly replaced by newer active ingredients that are less toxic, and more effective and convenient to use.
All organophosphates are veteran pesticides developed in the 1950s-1960s and are basically contact insecticides. This means that when the parasite comes in contact with it (e.g. during the blood meal, after landing on a treated host, etc), the active ingredient that impregnates the host's hair coat penetrates through the cuticle (i.e. the "skin" of insects and other arthropods) into its organism and disturbs essential biological processes in the parasite's body, in this case its nervous system.
After topical administration to livestock or other animals, organophosphates do not have a systemic mode of action, i.e. they are not transmitted to the parasite through the blood or the host. Topically administered organophosphates are very poorly absorbed through the skin of the hosts, and what is absorbed is quickly broken down and/or excreted. Consequently the concentration reached in the blood is too low to kill blood-sucking parasites.
DISCLAIMER
This article IS NOT A PRODUCT LABEL. It offers complementary information that may be useful to veterinary professionals and users that are not familiar with veterinary antiparasitics.
Information offered in this article has been extracted from publications issued by manufacturers, government agencies (e.g. EMEA, FDA, USDA, etc.) or in the scientific literature. No guarantee is given on its accuracy, integrity, sufficiency, actuality and opportunity, and any liability is denied. Read the site's DISCLAIMER.
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