Brand: Q-DRENCH ®

Company: JUROX


DELIVERY FORM: «drench» for oral administration.

ACTIVE INGREDIENT(S):

CHEMICAL CLASS of the active ingredient(s):


INDICATIONS: SHEEP


PARASITES CONTROLLED (spectrum of activity)

Sheep

  • Barber’s Pole Worm: Haemonchus contortus - including inhibited L4 stage and strains with single, dual or triple resistance to macrocyclic lactones, benzimidazoles, levamisole or closantel, and strains with emerging resistance to closantel.
  • Small Brown Stomach Worm: Teladorsagia (Ostertagia) circumcincta - including inhibited L4 stage and strains with single or dual resistance to macrocyclic lactones, benzimidazoles or levamisole:
  • Black Scour Worm: Trichostrongylus colubriformis - including strains with single or dual resistance to macrocyclic lactones, benzimidazoles or levamisole.
  • Large Stomach Worm: Haemonchus placei
  • Stomach Hair Worm: Trichostrongylus axei
  • Black Scour Worm: Trichostrongylus vitrinus
  • Small Intestinal Worm: Cooperia spp
  • Thin-Necked Intestinal Worm:  Nematodirus spp
  • Large Mouthed Bowel Worm: Chabertia ovina
  • Nodule Worm: Oesophagostomum columbianum
  • Large Bowel Worm: Oesophagostomum venulosum
  • Whip worm: Trichuris ovis
  • Intestinal threadworm: Strongyloides papillosus
  • Hookworm: Bunostomum spp
  • Nasal Bot: Oestrus ovis
  • Lungworm: Dictyocaulus viviparus (Large lungworm)
  • Liver Fluke: Fasciola hepatica - mature fluke and late immature forms including 6 week old stages. Reduces the output of viable fluke eggs.
  • Tapeworms: Moniezia spp - heads and segments
  • Itch mites: Psorergates ovis.

RECOMMENDED DOSE*

* Country-specific differences may apply: read the product label.

Liveweight (kg) Dose (mL) 1 L treats 5 L treats 10 L treats
11-15 3 333 1666 3333
16-20 4 250 1250 2500
21-25 5 200 1000 2000
26-30 6 166 833 1666
31-35 7 142 714 1428
36-40 8 125 625 1250
41-45 9 111 555 1111
46-50 10 100 500 1000
51-55 11 90 454 909
56-60 12 83 416 833
61-65 13 76 384 769
66-70 14 71 357 714
71-75 15 66 333 666


SAFETY

  • LD50 (acute oral) in rats:
    • Abamectin: 10 mg/kg (for the a.i.)
    • Albendazole: 1500 mg/kg (for the a.i.)
    • Closantel: 342 mg/kg (for the a.i.)
    • Levamisole: 180 mg/kg (for the a.i.)

Suspected poisoning? Read the articles on abamectin safety, albendazole safety, closantel safety and levamisole safety in this site.

Withholding periods (=withdrawal times) for meat & milk (country-specific differences may apply: read the product label)

  • Meat: 28 days (ESI not established)
  • Milk for human consumption: Do not use in female sheep which are producing, or may in the future produce, milk or milk products for human consumption.  

RESISTANCE PREVENTION

Risk of resistance? YES

Unfortunately, resistance of several gastrointestinal roundworms to abamectin (and other macrocyclic lactones), albendazole (and other benzimidazoles) and levamisole is already very high and very frequent worldwide in sheep and goats. Double or triple resistance (i.e. simultaneous) to two or even three of these chemical classes is not unusual. Resistance to closantel is emerging.

This means that if this product does not achieve the expected efficacy against the mentioned parasites, it can be due to resistance and not to incorrect use, which is usually the most frequent cause of product failure.

It is generally accepted that the use of mixtures of active ingredients with different modes of action can delay the appearance of resistance. But only if the concerned parasites are susceptible to all the actives in the mixture. If not, the mixture is likely to promote multi-resistant parasites, because the selection pressure against all actives remains in place. Mixtures such as this one may provide peace-of mind to those users that do not know the resistance status of worms in their property: at least one of the actives will work... This may be the case for a while. But the risk that some worm species become resistant to all components after a few years using the same or comparable mixtures is considerable. If it is not too late, a better alternative is to determine the resistance status in the property and to rotate among products (not mixtures) against which the worms have not yet developed resistance, stopping the use of those chemical classes that have already shown resistance problems.

Alternative chemical classes/active ingredients to prevent resistance of gastrointestinal roundworms through product rotation:

These alternative products may not be available in all countries, or may not be available as drenches, or may not be effective against all the concerned parasites.

It is highly recommended to periodically check the resistance status of each property performing appropriate tests (e.g. fecal egg counts) under supervision of a veterinary doctor. Such tests are now routinely available for most producers in developed countries.

Resistance of liver flukes (Fasciola hepatica) to benzimidazoles (albendazole, triclabendazole) has also been reported in many countries. Resistance of liver flukes to closantel is still rare.

Learn more about resistance and how it develops.


MARKETING

Are the active ingredients of this product ORIGINAL* or GENERICS**?

  • Abamectin: GENERIC (introduced in the 1980s)
  • Albendazole: GENERIC (introduced in the 1970s)
  • Closantel: GENERIC (introduced in the 1970s)
  • Levamisole: GENERIC (introduced in the 1960s)

*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, New Zealand
GENERIC BRANDS available? Rather few, if at all, with this particular composition.

Click here to learn more about GENERIC vs. ORIGINAL drugs.

For an overview on the most used drench brands for livestock click here.


COMMENTS

Q-DRENCH is a drench brand from JUROX combining 4 active ingredients with different modes of action against gastrointestinal worms of sheep: abamectin, albendazole, closantel and levamisole hydrochloride.

Abamectin, one of the first macrocyclic lactones developed, was introduced already in the 1980s (by MSD AGVET). As all macrocyclic lactones, abamectin is an endectocide, i.e. it is simultaneously effective against some external parasites and against internal parasites (mainly roundworms). As for other macrocyclic lactones, abamectin has no efficacy whatsoever against tapeworms and flukes. Abamectin is considered as the "cheap" ivermectin, with a similar spectrum of efficacy but less potent and slightly more toxic. It is abundantly used in ruminants, much less in pig, poultry and pets. Abamectin is also used in agricultural and hygiene pesticides worldwide. Interestingly abamectin is widely used on livestock in Australia and New Zealand but insignificantly in the EU, the USA and Canada.

Albendazole, another veteran anthelmintic (introduced in the 1970s by SMITH-KLINE) was the first benzimidazole with a broad-spectrum of activity, i.e. effective against all three major classes of parasitic worms: Roundworms (gastrointestinal and pulmonary), tapeworms, and flukes (only adults). Most other benzimidazoles are not effective against flukes, and the oldest ones are also ineffective against tapeworms. Albendazole also kills eggs of roundworms and flukes (ovicidal activity). All this made albendazole particularly popular for use on livestock. As other benzimidazolesalbendazole has no efficacy whatsoever against external parasites (ticksflies, lice, mites, etc). A significant disadvantage of albendazole is that it can be teratogenic (other benzimidazoles too, e.g. ricobendazole, parbendazole and cambendazole), i.e. it can cause malformations in the embryos and therefore should not be administered to pregnant animals. Albendazole is abundantly used worldwide in numberless generic brands for livestock, but significantly less for pets. It is not used in agriculture.

Closantel (introduced in the 1970s by JANSSEN) is a narrow spectrum but rather particular anthelmintic, because it is effective against some internal parasites (e.g. Haemonchus contortus and Fasciola hepatica) and a few external parasites as well (e.g. nasal bots). Closantel offers also good control of adult liver flukes, but efficacy against immatures is incomplete (>5 weeks ~90%; 3-4 weeks <73%): this is important because immature stages are the most damaging ones. Efficacy against roundworms is usually limited to blood-feeding species. This is related to the fact that ingested closantel is quickly absorbed to blood where it binds strongly to plasma proteins. There it remains for several days before being excreted. In contrast, its concentration in the tissues is usually too low to kill worms that do not feed blood, which are the majority among the roundworms that infect sheep. Nowadays closantel is scarcely used in ruminants most countries. It is not used in swine, poultry, horses or pets- It is not used in agriculture.

Levamisole is the most veteran anthelmintic in this combination. It was introduced by JANSSEN already in the 1960s (NILVERM, RIPERCOL). It has a broad-spectrum of activity against roundworms (gastrointestinal and pulmonary) but no efficacy whatsoever against tapeworms and flukes. It is also completely ineffective against external parasites of livestock (ticksflies, lice, mites, etc). Levamisole has been used massively worldwide in countless generic formulations. It still remains one of the most preferred low-cost anthelmintics for livestock worldwide. It is used a lot in ruminants, less in swine and poultry, and only marginally in pets. It is not used in agriculture

Albendazole and levamisole administered as a drench have no residual effect, i.e. they kill the parasites shortly after administration, but do not significantly protect the animals against re-infestation by infective stages in their environment. Whether such protection can be ensured by abamectin and/or closantel depends on the resistance status of the concerned worm species.

In ruminants, reducing the amount of feed slows down the exit flow of the rumen and prolongs the time during which the active ingredient remains there and is absorbed. Consequently it is advisable to reduce the access of animals to feed (especially to fresh pasture, not to water) 24 hours before administration. For the same reason, it is better to keep the animals away from food for about 6 hours after drenching. However sick or weak animals should not be kept away from food and fasting animals should have access to water.

Click here for general information on good practices for the prevention and control of gastrointestinal worms in livestock.


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.

In case of doubt contact the manufacturer or a veterinary professional.