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Efficacy of alphacypermetrin pour-on against natural Werneckiella equi infestation on donkeys (Equus asinus)

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Abstract

The chewing louse Werneckiella equi is an ectoparasite of donkeys and other equids. Alphacypermethrin (ACYP) is a pyrethroid insecticide commonly used for the control of insects of veterinary and public health concerns. A trial was conducted to assess the efficacy of ACYP against W. equi on naturally infested donkeys. Parasitological investigations were performed on 13 animals. On day 0, the donkeys received ACYP pour-on at the manufacturer’s recommended dose rate for cattle. Louse counts were performed on days −1, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, and 56 at seven predilection sites on the skin of each donkey. ACYP was completely effective (100 %) from day 7, until the end of the study. ACYP was well tolerated by all animals as there were no observed clinical adverse reactions. ACYP was highly effective, safe, user-friendly, and considered to be suitable for the treatment of donkeys for W. equi infestation.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Prof. Tom Yazwinski and Prof. Glenn Herrick for the critical comments and for the revision of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards

The authors declare that the research comply with the current Italian laws.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology and Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Naples Federico II, Via della Veterinaria, 1, 80137, Naples, Italy

    Vincenzo Veneziano

  2. DISCIZIA, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy

    Gianluca Neglia

  3. Naturalist Science, Cibele Onlus, Centola, Salerno, Italy

    Alfredo Galietti

  4. DVM, Practitioner, Petina, Salerno, Italy

    Domenico Rufrano

  5. Pfizer Animal Health, Rome, Italy

    Andrea Bassini

  6. Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, Napoli, Italy

    Ugo Mariani

  7. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Adnan Menderes, 09100, Aydin, Turkey

    Cengiz Gokbulut

Authors
  1. Vincenzo Veneziano
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  2. Gianluca Neglia
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  3. Alfredo Galietti
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  4. Domenico Rufrano
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  5. Andrea Bassini
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  6. Ugo Mariani
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  7. Cengiz Gokbulut
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Correspondence to Vincenzo Veneziano.

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Veneziano, V., Neglia, G., Galietti, A. et al. Efficacy of alphacypermetrin pour-on against natural Werneckiella equi infestation on donkeys (Equus asinus). Parasitol Res 111, 967–973 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-012-2920-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-012-2920-z

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